In Dubio Pro Reo: The Prodigal Daughter
by Radical Liar
Summary: The Lightman Group is faced with a 30 year old mystery when a family from Maryland hires them to determine whether the young woman on their door step is in fact their daughter who had been kidnapped as a child.
1. Prelude Part I

Cal Lightman was sitting in his home office late on a Saturday night, twiddling a pen between his fingers while staring absentmindedly at the journal he was supposed to be reading. The house always seemed so eerily quiet without his daughter's presence. He had never gotten used to living alone again after fourteen years of marriage. That's why he spent so much time at the office during the week. Weekends were great because he usually had Emily. The weekends Emily spent at her mum's were dreadful, though. He hated those weekends because he was forced to mope around alone in the big house all by himself. Frequently he ended up at the office anyway because he couldn't stand the silence and loneliness of his own four walls. Lonely weekends always reminded him of the life he'd had. He still missed their family banter, Emily's laughter while she watched cartoons, Zoë's tirades coming from the kitchen, the dog barking at the neighbour's cat. Cal closed his eyes, revelling in the memories of his once picture perfect life. Only it turned out to be not so perfect after all.

He thought about the last week Emily had spent with him and could not help but think he'd made a mistake in letting her shadow him at work. She shouldn't be exposed to the dark side of humanity at her young age. Gillian would correct him that Emily was getting ready to go off to college and discover the dark side of the world all on her own in a year, but Cal thought it better to not dwell about that time yet. He had no idea what he would do if Emily chose a college far away from home. It was no coincidence he still had not rescheduled their college trip to California to visit the Berkley campus. He could open an office on the West Coast, surely there had to be just as many liars in L.A. as there were in D.C. Maybe he could covertly bug her entire dorm with a live feed to make sure she was safe? He sighed. He sounded like a pervert. But show him a father who does _not_ turn into an overprotective lunatic the minute he held his newborn daughter for the first time in his arms. He remembered that moment as if it were yesterday.

_She'd opened her big eyes – which were still blue at that time – and stared at him with probably just as much curiosity as he displayed studying the tiny little body in his arms. Ten toes. Ten fingers. She was perfect. His heart swelled and felt as if someone squeezed the life out of it at the same time. He was a father. She was his Achilles' heel. He had a little baby girl, who looked up at him, her eyes wide with wonder, as if he held all the answers to the universe. And right that very moment Cal realised he would kill for her, lie his ass off to protect her and give his own life for her happiness. Her arms flailed and she geared up for a disgruntled scream._

"_She's got your lungs", Cal quipped as he glanced at Zoë, who was leaning back exhausted in bed._

"_Give her to me", she sighed._

_Cal pressed the little bundle closer to his chest, declaring a hearty, "No!"_

_Zoë raised her eyebrow._

"_She's not hungry yet." He countered, reading her expression._

"_Don't read me. And you can't read her. She's a baby, Cal."_

"_She's bonding with her father." He clarified, "You've had her for nine months. It's time you shared."_

"_She's not a toy."_

"_She's beautiful and amazing and adorable and so precious." Cal swooned as he rocked his baby girl in his arms for the first time. He felt ten feet tall, when the baby's scream quieted down. "She loves me. She knows I'm her daddy. She feels safe in my arms." He beamed at his wife._

"_**She**__ needs a name", Zoë smiled and motioned for Cal to come over. He sat down on the bed next to her, cradling the baby safely in his arms. He leaned over and the new parents gazed intently at the life they had created together._

"_Remind me of our girlie shortlist."_

"_Well there is Julia, Sarah, Emily, Jillian and Michelle." Zoë recalled at the top of her head the five names they had both agreed on they liked the most. They all had a nice ring with Lightman but they had decided to wait until they saw the face to go with a name._

"_She doesn't really look like a Julia or Sarah to me." Cal held the pink bundle in front of his face and studied her features closely. "There, see, I think she scrunched her nose."_

_Zoë rolled her eyes and shook her head at her husband, "What about the others?" _

"_Jillian."_

"_I liked that one but I don't know. She's…" Zoë gesticulated wildly and trailed off._

_Cal supplied, "Not really a Jillian. I agree."_

_She leaned over her baby girl, "I like Michelle. Would you like to be a Michelle?"_

"_Nah, I think she looks more like an Emily. Don't you think?"_

_Zoë took the baby from Cal and cradled her in her arms, "Emily Michelle Lightman. What do you think?" She looked up from her baby to her husband and smiled._

"_I think it's perfect. Just like you." He leaned in and kissed her deeply. "Thank you for making me the happiest man on earth." He looked down at his daughter and whispered her name softly, as he ran a finger gently down her cheek._


	2. Prelude Part II

**_Author's Note: I have been sitting on this story for over half a year. In fact, I began writing it around this time last year, so the story takes place post season two. It picks up somewhere around the time after Darkness and Light. Unfortunately, this means Cal seems a bit out of character now, given the developments in season three. I decided against rewriting everything and I believe that Cal from season one and two is still buried deep inside season three Cal. _**

* * *

><p>Gillian Foster lay on the couch with a big bowl of ice cream, watching a <em>Bones<em> marathon on TV while shovelling the cold deliciousness into her mouth. She loved the quirky and socially awkward palaeontologist and could use the diversion before going to bed. She'd had a hard time getting Molly and her family out of her head. The case had taken so many twists and turns – and none for the better.

She prayed to God that they hadn't made a mistake by letting Amy take the fall for her mother's death. Putting such weight on the shoulders of a teenager was not something she'd considered easily but she knew Molly wouldn't have been able to handle the truth. Her life was going to be hard enough, and she needed her family to get through this mess. She needed to reconcile with her father, so really this had been the only option. Gillian was educated enough on the topic to know that a HIV diagnosis no longer equalled a death sentence, but she was also intelligent enough to be aware that people still harboured prejudices based on antiquated information. Molly was not going to have an easy life.

She wondered how Emily was dealing with all of it. Knowing how hard Cal always tried to shelter her, he must have been pretty distraught about having his daughter involved in this dreadful case. For all the times she'd admonished him for keeping Emily on too tight a leash, cases like these she was thankful that he did. She could not imagine what she would do if something like this were to happen to Emily; there was no telling what Cal would do once he flew off the wall. His overprotective nature could be frustrating for Emily and certainly incensed her to rebel against him all the more but at the end of the day she knew her father loved her and only wanted the best for her. Despite being a child of divorced parents, Emily didn't grow up in a broken home. Her parents loved her, even if Cal sometimes had weird ways of showing it.

She considered calling to check in on them; offer to talk to Emily, but she knew the teenager was comfortable enough in their relationship to reach out to her if she needed to. Over the years they'd developed an unusual friendship, which Cal had always highly encouraged. She suspected it was partially to rile up Zoë and partially to help her compensate the lack of children in her own marriage. Emily had become the closest thing to a daughter she thought she'd ever have, especially now that she was single again and not really getting any younger. Their bond went beyond Cal as the common denominator in their lives, even though they often talked about him and how he was driving them crazy.

Emily often dropped by her office before or after she visited her father to talk about her parents, boys, friends, clothes and other typical teenager problems she did not feel comfortable talking about with either Cal or Zoë. Gillian knew that Emily was more perceptive and mature than your average teenager and sensed that the young girl needed an impartial sounding board aside from her flock of girlfriends to talk things out seriously. And Gillian felt flattered and honoured that Emily had trusted her enough to pick her. She enjoyed their little heart to hearts in her office, even if mediating between Emily and Cal could sometimes get very frustrating. And when it came down to it, she knew she would always drop whatever she was doing, no matter how important, when it came to Emily's well being.

_Gillian had been at the fertility clinic with Alec after yet another failed attempt at trying to conceive. The doctor had confirmed the issue was much more common than young couples thought and that all they had to do was up the ante a little bit. She and Alec were listening intently to the doctor who explained about new fertility drugs in connection with artificial insemination, when her phone rang. She had smiled apologetically and pressed ignore on the call. The doctor reassured them that they were nowhere close to having exhausted the medical technology at their hands. Gillian's phone rang again, and __everyone sent it an offensive look. Like the first time she recognised the caller from the ringtone and ignored Cal's call angrily. Damn the man, he knew where she and Alec were this afternoon._

_Gillian apologised again and nodded at the doctor to continue about the further testing required but the sound of an incoming text message interrupted them again. _

"_I'm sorry, I'll turn it off, it's only work" Gillian rolled her eyes at Alec, indicating she was close to killing Cal and hiding his body, when she actually saw the message on the screen. __**911 Emily**__. That was all it took and she quickly pressed the call back button._

"_I'm sorry honey; I need to get this after all, something happened to Emily." The phone didn't even ring twice before Cal picked up without preamble, "Thank God, it's about time, love." Gillian didn't have to be an expert in voice recognition to hear the anxiety in her friend's voice._

"_What happened, Cal?"_

"_That's just it. I don't know what's wrong. Emily has locked herself up in the bathroom and won't talk to me."_

"_You need to calm down, Cal. Shouting isn't going to solve the problem." Gillian reminded him softly._

"_I'm sorry, Gillian. I am so sorry, I know that you have way more important things on your mind this afternoon but I'm at a loss. She's not talking and I can hear her cry and whimper but she won't let me in. She wants her mum. I tried to call Zoë but I can't reach her and I'm just so worried because she wasn't feeling well in the morning." The words poured out of Cal's mouth at the velocity of a waterfall. "What if she's really sick in there and I can't help her?"_

"_Okay, okay. I'll come over. Can you try to get her on the phone with me?" She could almost see Cal nodding as she heard him run up the stairs two steps at a time. She turned to Alec who looked worried._

"_Em, love. I got…" Gillian heard Cal call out and then was shocked at the venom in Emily's reply, "Leave me alone! GO AWAY!" Gillian and Alec shot each other a surprised look, Emily's reaction was loud enough for her husband to hear. He shot her a questioning look and she shrugged in response she had no idea what was going on in the Lightman household._

_She heard Cal take a deep breath and try again, "Emily, I'm sorry but no can do. I'm worried about you. I've got Gillian on the phone; she wants to know how you are. Will you come out and talk to her?"_

_Gillian heard some mumbling on the other side of the line as Cal tried to reason with Emily to at least talk to Gillian, if she didn't want to come out and tell him. Finally Cal was back on the line and explained, "I got her to agree to talk to you in person. She won't open the door for me to hand her the phone. She says she doesn't trust me to respect her privacy and I would try to come in. What does she care about privacy? She's bloody thirteen years old!"_

"_She's right, you know Cal. You would make your way in if she opened the door to grab the phone. I'm honestly surprised you haven't unhinged the door yet to force your way in."_

"_The thought's crossed my mind, love, believe me, but I don't know where the bloody screwdriver is. I don't want to upset Em more than she already is. I don't know what's gotten into her. We were fine yesterday; she was so looking forward to our weekend on the beach. And all of a sudden overnight she hates me, sends me dirty looks every time I try to hug her. This is not my little girl, Foster, I woke up to a stranger."_

"_You said she wasn't feeling well this morning?" Gillian inquired when she finally got a word in._

"_Yeah. She woke up with a tummy ache but she wasn't really sick. I initially tried to bribe her with promises of ice cream to go ahead with our plans but she wouldn't even contemplate leaving the bed. I tried to make amends with extra hugs and her favourite movie but she pushed me away, claiming I was smothering her. I'm telling you it's like someone came into my home at night and switched my darling little angel with a spoilt little brat!" _

_And then suddenly it clicked and Gillian broke out into a huge smile. "It's going to be alright, Cal. I'm on my way over but I have to make a stop first."_

_Cal immediately picked up on the change in her voice, "You know something, don't you? What is it, Foster? Tell me, so I can help her!" Cal sighed in defeat, "I feel so useless, Gillian. My little girl's hurting and I can't help her. Where's her mum when she needs her?"_

"_Yeah, I think I know what's up and don't worry. She's gonna be fine. But no, I'm not telling you over the phone, because the minute you know, you'll only bother her more. I know you. Sit tight, Cal. I'll be there in half an hour." Gillian didn't wait for his reply and shut off her phone._

"_Is Emily ok?"_

_Gillian nodded, "Yeah, she'll be fine. Cal is going to be in for a rollercoaster ride, though." She turned to the doctor, "I'm really sorry but we'll have to reschedule. I need to go. My friend's a single dad this weekend and is in way in over his head." The doctor nodded understandingly but couldn't help hide her curiosity. _

_Alec raised his eyebrows expectantly at his wife waiting for an explanation. "Do you need my help?"_

_Gillian snorted, "Nah, I think even more testosterone wouldn't go over too well with Emily. It looks like Cal's little girl's turned into a woman today." _

_Gillian grinned, Alec frowned, and the doctor smiled knowingly._

0~0~0~0~0_  
><em>

_She pulled up in his driveway and was greeted with an impatient, "Where the hell have you been?"_

"_Hello to you too, Dr Lightman." Gill shouted sarcastically, before she reached to her backseat to retrieve the brown paper bag._

"_You went bloody shopping?" Cal was beside himself now. Gillian had to bite back a laugh, if she hadn't known the turmoil he was in, his erratic behaviour would have been amusing._

"_Yes, for Emily, and you can thank me later." Gillian dispensed his accusation and marched past him into his home._

"_What the hell, Foster?" He grabbed the bag out of her hand as he shut the door behind himself. He quickly pulled out one item after another, confusion spreading across his face. "What on earth is all that?" _

_Gillian picked up a pack of tampons in her left and a pack of Always in her right and grinned at her best friend, "Welcome to hell, Cal Lightman." She saw as realization hit Cal like a ton of bricks. He groaned and slapped his head forcefully._

"_Ohhhhh. Oh fuck. I'm such an insensitive prick!"_

"_Don't beat yourself up about it. How were you supposed to know?"_

"_I'm her father!" He protested._

"_Yeah right and that makes you an expert on menstrual cycles, how?"_

"_I'm gonna kill Zoë! She could have warned me."_

"_Yeah, well, get in line. Right know I'd like to strangle her myself but I think Emily deserves the first shot."_

"_What am I gonna do now?" He stared at Gillian lost and helplessly. "There's no way I can do this. I don't even know how these things work!" He grabbed the box of tampons and glanced at the instructions, "This wasn't exactly a conversational topic in my marriage."_

"_Yeah, usually by the time we get married, we've figured out how to keep our feminine secrets." Gillian chuckled, "Don't worry, Cal. I'll talk to her. I had to make a stop because I was sure you didn't have any feminine products but I'm here now. I'll take over."_

"_No wonder she didn't want me around here. How am I gonna make this right for her, Gillian?"_

"_You're," Gillian grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him towards the door, "going to leave the house", she snatched the car keys off the hook and pushed them into the hand he'd raised in protest, "and are under orders not to come back before you've acquired a pint of Rocky Road." She opened the door and pushed him through._

"_Rocky Road?" He turned around on the doorstep._

"_Rocky Road!" She nodded affirmatively. _

"_But…" He tried to get back into the house._

"_Ice cream, Cal!"_

"_Right, just let me…"_

"_Good-bye, Cal!" she threw the door shut in his face and chuckled over the perplexed look on his face. Definitely a Kodak moment. She took a deep breath, threw her purchases back into the bag and ventured upstairs to the bathroom._

"_Hey Em, it's me, Gillian. Can I come in? I sent your dad away, it's safe to open the door."_

_Gillian heard some noise on the other side and then the lock turned slowly. She waited a few moments, and then opened the door carefully. Her heart went out to the young girl who was a mess sitting on the bathroom floor._

"_Oh honey, it's going to be all right now, I promise."  
><em>

0~0~0~0~0

_Cal returned to his quiet house an hour later. Gillian had succeeded in calming the little spitfire in his bathroom and coax her out into her bedroom. She was sitting on Emily's bed with the teenager resting her head comfortably in Gillian's lap, while she rubbed Emily__'__s back. They had been talking about the joys of womanhood – the irony of it not escaping Gillian. Emily declared she hated boys because all they had to do was shave, while she had to endure cramps and periods every month and when not enduring those she'd be lugging around a baby. Gillian laughed and reassured Emily that her opinion would change once she married the right guy._

"_Thanks, Gillian, I don't know what I would have done today without you. Mom's out of state on a case and Dad is…well…you know, Dad. He's a guy…I just couldn't… You learn about it in health class but it doesn't prepare you for the real thing. The pain and cramps were just awful, I thought I was dying." Emily raised herself and threw her arms around Gillian._

"_I'm sure your father was convinced of the same thing. You really pulled a fast one on him today, I've never seen him so…"_

"_Totally freaked out?"_

"_I was going for agitated but I think you nailed it." Gillian smiled. "He loves you, Emily. It broke his heart today when he realised there were things in this world he couldn't really help you with. I saw his face and you know he can't lie very well to me."_

"_He helped me. He called you. Thanks for coming."_

"_Anytime, Em. Anytime. I'm just a call away if you ever need me. You understand? I'll always have time for you, even if it's just to talk. I'm a really good listener."_

"_Dad says that's code for shrink."_

_Gillian laughed, "That's because your dad hates to talk and prefers facial expressions over words. But I was thinking more along the lines of girl talk…you know, between friends." She ruffled the teenager's hair affectionately._

"_I like that." Emily gave it some thought. "You're awesome, Gillian, you know that? How come you don't have any kids? Alec needs to step up to the plate! You'll make one hell of a mom one day." Emily hugged her tight. Emily meant well with her innocent comment but Gillian was thankful for Cal interrupting them with a knock on the door. She had a hard time holding back the tears and felt instant relief at the sight of her best friend. He reminded her of a fish out of water the way he casually leaned against the doorframe; worry still etched across his face, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible._

"_I just wanted to let my favourite girls know that there is a huge ice cream tub full of Rocky Road waiting for you in the freezer." He stared at Gillian and breathed a sigh of relief when she nodded ever so slightly to indicate that everything is fine. "Right, I uhhh…I'll leave you ladies to your gossip."_

"_Dad?" _

_He spun on his heals and hovered in the door for a moment, "Are you okay, love?" He looked at his daughter with so much love in his eyes; it almost took Gillian's breath away._

"_Yeah…I…" Emily looked for the right words to reassure her father and let him know they were good. "Thanks for calling Gillian. I'm sorry I…"_

_He held up his hands in a reassuring gesture, "It's okay, darling. I love you. I get it, I really do. Your mum's supposed to be there for you for this. I'm sure she would never have left you alone if she'd known this would come up. I understand you didn't feel comfortable with me invading your personal space. I'm sorry I couldn't help you sooner."_

"_It's not your fault, dad. Can we… can we…just forget today ever happened and never ever talk about this again?" She looked at him a bit mortified._

_Cal sighed and walked over to the bed. He ran his fingers through Emily's hair and smiled softly, "Whatever you want, Em. Just promise me, next time you need help with something I can't handle, you call Gillian right away? Okay? I was really worried sick today about you."_

"_Promise."_

"_Good, I'll be downstairs if you need anything." He kissed his daughter's head through her hair. _

And just like that Emily had taken Gillian up on her offer and she found Emily regularly in her office venting about her father, complaining about her mother or gushing about her boyfriends. And Gillian Foster loved every single minute of being part of Emily Lightman's life.


	3. Chapter 1

_**The usual disclaimer applies but - geesh! - FOX has practically abandoned this show!  
><strong>_

* * *

><p>Monday morning came and found Gillian roaming the halls of the Lightman Group. She had beaten everyone else in, including Cal, because she'd wanted to sneak a look at Loker's case preparations for the upcoming week. She trusted Eli to handle his new position well but it couldn't hurt to keep an eye on his work for the first couple of weeks. She just didn't want him to feel supervised in his supervising position so she chose to come in early and take a quick glance. She took a sip from her coffee cup and entered the master password to get access to Loker's account. Cal was not the only one who knew how to spy on his employees.<p>

"Oi! What're you doing here so early?" Gillian straightened up and quickly closed the word document on her screen.

"Nothing."

Cal gave her a look that told her, _yeah right_. He pushed himself off her doorframe and swaggered over to her desk.

"I'm going over the caseload for the upcoming week. It _is_ Monday, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But that's a lie." Cal plopped down on the chair in front of her desk with a cup of coffee in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other. "You were checking up on Loker, you were." Cal stated it as a fact. Gillian rolled her eyes. "So how's he doing?"

Gillian reopened the document and admitted that Loker was handling his new responsibilities rather well. "He's still looking at potential cases from the scientific point of view, so we have to talk to him about rearranging his priorities."

Cal pulled a face; he had hoped that now with Loker pre-screening new cases for them the financial incentive would take a backseat to scientific merit. Gillian caught the look on his face and admonished him, "We still need the money, even though we've got Clara off our back. Or do you want to cut everyone's salary again?"

"So what's on the menu for today?"

"Loker has flagged one case as high priority because it's not only well-paid but interesting."

"That's my boy." Cal grinned.

Gillian rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. "Looks like a young woman claims to be the long lost daughter of a wealthy family in Maryland."

Cal straightened up, his curiosity was piqued. "I'm gonna get the blue files, be right back." He placed the bag and cup on her desk and headed for the door.

"What's in the paper bag?" Gillian had an idea because she could smell cinnamon rolls.

Cal whisked around, "I got you breakfast when I picked up my coffee. I had a feeling you'd be here."

By the time he returned Gillian had polished off the two cinnamon rolls. Cal gaped and shot her a disbelieving look. "One of them was mine." He scowled.

"You don't eat breakfast." She shrugged indifferently.

"I'm trying to change."

"You don't like pastries."

"Yeah, I do."

Now it was Gillian's turn to send him a look of disbelief.

"I just usually live vicariously through you. You consume enough chocolate and sugar for the entire D.C. population."

"Are you gunning for me to kick you out of my office?" Gillian reached out for one of the blue folders.

"Right. Here you go." He handed her one of his copies. They both went silent as they read over Loker's notes and recommendations.

"I really wanted that cinnamon roll." Cal whined at one point.

"I'll get you a new one later." Gillian growled.

"It's not the same as having breakfast with you." He sighed without looking up from his notes.

Gillian stopped dead in her tacks and cast him a curious glance. "I'll buy you lunch to make up for it."

"Actually you're having lunch with the mayor." Cal replied dryly.

"Technically _we're_ having lunch with the mayor." Gillian shot him an annoyed look.

"You know the rules, love. Politics and feelings are your department."

"You're still coming along." She arched a brow in question at him.

"You can take Torres."

"It's _your_ name on the door."

"Ok." He conceded and she blinked in surprise.

"Ok?"

"Yeah, ok. I'll tag along as long as you do all the talking."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. That was way too easy. What do you have planned?"

"Nothin'!"

Gillian scrutinised her friend and partner carefully. "You know what? I think I'm gonna take Ria along after all. She could use a glimpse into the business end of what we do."

"See? I told you all along." Cal grinned smugly and Gillian realised she'd just been played.

"Sometimes I hate you."

"Only sometimes?" He grinned unrepentantly.

"You're a nuisance, Cal Lightman. Right now I want to slap you."

"Ooohhh." Cal made a show out of his excitement before letting his face fall on purpose, "No you don't. All those empty promises."

"Focus, Cal! We've got a company to run."

"How am I supposed to focus when I have to read Loker's chicken scratch?"

"That's what you get for pinching his report before he's had time to type it up and present the case to you."

"I know we've been cutting expenses around here recently but surely we must have enough money to sign Eli up for a calligraphy class?"

Gillian laughed out loud.

"What? I'm just sayin', he's the poster boy for left-handed people's chicken scratch."

"That's a bias and you know it, Cal. I know some left-handed people who happen to have a very beautiful hand-writing."

Cal held up his notes and pointed to a word, "Then perhaps you can tell me at least the name of the bloody family?"

Gillian tilted her head and squinted her eyes, "Levinson? Longfield? No. Featherstone?" She grunted frustrated.

"Case closed." Cal grinned triumphantly. "He starts at community college on Monday."

Their banter was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Speakin' of the devil." Cal cocked his eyebrows at his friend.

Loker stuck his head inside to inform his superiors that the Livingstons were coming by at 10 o'clock. Cal thought he saw something flash in Gillian's eyes but wasn't sure. She really _was_ his blind spot.

"Well, then, love, I'll let you get ready for your meeting with the mayor. I'm going to let Loker fill me in on the missing girl case. Will you join us later?"

Gillian nodded, "If I can finish the briefing for the mayor in time."

"Alright, see you later." Cal got up and walked to the door, then threw over his shoulder, "I'm banking on that cinnamon roll!"

Gillian laughed out loud and was tempted to throw the empty coffee cup he'd left on her desk after him.

0~0~0~0~0

"Well about 30 years ago, a young girl named Nicole Livingston went missing in Poughkeepsie, NY. The family never heard from her again until a month ago when a young woman showed up on their doorstep in Maryland, claiming to be their daughter." Loker explained to his boss. They were sitting in Lightman's office going over the information on the case Eli had prepared.

Cal raised his eyebrows, "What did she say about where she'd been all those years?" He leaned back casually, twisting a pen between his fingers.

"Well, she claims that she was approached by a man after school who told her he was a friend of her parents. He told her that her parents were killed in an accident and she was going to live with him from now on."

"How old was she then?"

"Seven."

Cal closed his eyes and shook his head. Why did children have to be so trusting? "What happened to her abductor?"

"We don't know. Nicole says she ran away from him the following summer, after he tried to touch her. She lived on the streets and eked out her living as a pocket thief until she was caught and sent to a home. All she remembers is his first name – Clive – and that he had a large scar on his cheek."

"We need to get the police report and check their suspects."

"I'm already on it, but actually, the family did not hire us to investigate Nicole's disappearing."

"No? Thank God, thirty-year old kidnapping cases suck. So what do they want from us, then?"

"Well, it seems that their son Daniel is convinced that Nicole is a fake. He was the driving force in getting us involved."

"Ohhhhh." Cal's eyes flashed with excitement. "Why would he do that?"

Loker shrugged his shoulders, "He claims that Nicole is after the family fortune."

"Little brother doesn't want to share the inheritance?"

"Older brother, actually. Daniel was nine when Nicole disappeared. He says his parents are too gullible and Nicole is taking advantage of that. In any case, they want you to read her in the cube. How did she find them anyway after so many years? In a different state no less."

"More importantly, why don't they just have a DNA test done?"

"So many questions, so little time."

"We need to find some answers."

"Exactly."

0~0~0~0~0

Cal could not wait to meet the Livingstons.

As if on cue, Heidi appeared in the door, announcing the arrival of their new clients.

"Mr and Mrs Livingston, Dr. Cal Lightman and Eli Loker." She introduced them, and then backed out politely. The older couple was followed by a younger couple, which Cal presumed to be the children. Cal and Eli stood up to shake hands.

"Dr Lightman, it's a pleasure to meet you. These are our children, Daniel and Nicole."

Cal watched the older brother scoff at the reference of the other woman being his sister. He also noticed that the father introduced the son first. He'd have to ask Gillian if this was of importance. It could just be a force of habit; after all, Mr Livingston didn't have a daughter to introduce for the better part of thirty years.

"Why don't we all take a seat?"

"You mean you won't interrogate me right now?" Nicole asked, obviously relieved. The way she was kneading her hands gave her nervousness away.

"No, no. I would just like to talk to you." Cal smiled, trying to put the younger woman at ease.

"Okay." She beamed at him and Loker sent Lightman an amused and knowing glance. Eli could not be a hundred percent sure because he couldn't zoom in on Nicole's eyes but from the looks of it the prodigal daughter liked Lightman. Cal was not fooled and shot his employee an annoyed look. Eli wiped the grin off his face and sat up straight.

"Alright, Nicole. Tell me what your last memory is."

Nicole looked at him confused, "From before when I was…?" Upon Cal's nod she continued, "I don't know. It was summer. It was a really hot day. We'd decided to walk home from school instead of taking the bus because it's always so sticky in there. It was not too far and there were three of us, so…. We were young and stupid; we didn't think…You never think it's going to happen to you."

Cal nodded in understanding. "What happened?" He prodded softly. Eli watched in amazement. Usually Lightman let Foster ask all the questions, so he could just watch. Just for this purpose Eli had prepared a catalogue of questions, if Lightman called on him to do it. Instead he got a learning lesson on how to read someone, without letting them know you're doing it. Lightman asked casual, general questions, so he didn't have to divert his concentration from reading her face, while at the same keeping Nicole calm and talking.

"We got into a fight. Jill and Simone, I mean. I can't remember what it was about. It was so long ago, but… I got upset. I told them to go to hell and took the shortcut through the forest."

Eli raised his eyebrows, which Nicole caught. "Stupid, I know. Next thing I knew a man ran towards me calling my name. He told me mom and dad", she glanced briefly at her parents, "were killed in a car accident. I recognised him from dad's office, his name was Clive."

"We don't know anyone named Clive." Mr Livingston interjected angrily and agitated.

Cal put his hand up in a placating gesture, "It's okay, Mr Livingston. It's not your fault. We're going to get to that in a minute. Right now I want Nicole to finish her story. Can you do that?"

The woman nodded. "I asked about Daniel. He said Daniel didn't want to come with us."

"And you believed him?" Daniel shouted irritated.

"We had a fight over the weekend because I played with your telescope. You told me to get lost and stop bothering you."

"That didn't mean I would desert you, if something happened to mom and dad!" Daniel yelled. Interesting, Cal thought, when he noticed a flicker of doubt cross the other man's face. So far the only read he had gotten from Daniel was that he was 100% convinced that Nicole was not his real sister. However, what she had just said struck a chord with him and clearly unsettled him.

Eli thought Lightman would interrupt the brother but instead Cal's eyes went back and forth between brother and sister, studying their faces.

"How the hell was I supposed to know? You told me you hated my mug and warned me to keep away from you. I thought you didn't want to come with us because of me." Nicole started to cry. Her mother quickly enfolded her into an embrace. The look she sent her son was a cross between anger and pleading and forgiveness.

"Where did the man take you?" Eli asked to bring the interview back on track, which earned him an encouraging look from his boss.

"We went to his car. It was parked near the street on the other end of the forest. He told me he was going to bring me to my aunt and uncle in Ohio. Only…we never got there. He'd run out of money so we stopped in some little Podunk town in Pennsylvania. He said it was only for a short while until he'd earned enough money to continue the journey. I didn't question him. He was nice to me. He gave me food and clothes. He tucked me in at night and told me bedtime stories…" Her voice broke and Eli automatically reached for the pitcher and poured her a glass of water. Nicole smiled grateful at him and downed half of it.

She cleared her throat, "But then I noticed the looks he gave me… they made me uncomfortable. I kept asking about Daniel. He told me you were living with nana. I asked if I could live with her, too, but he said she was too old to be looking after two little children. He said aunt Jackie and uncle Peter were waiting for me. It never occurred to me to ask him why they just didn't come to pick me up. One night he came into my room…he…I kicked him and ran away. I made it all the way to Pittsburgh, before the authorities caught me and put me into a home. I didn't know my aunt and uncle's address in Ohio. They thought I was a runaway but I explained that my parents had died in an accident. They put me into an orphanage."

"Okay, Nicole. You did good. I'm sure this wasn't easy to tell, so how about you get some rest and we'll continue this in the afternoon." Cal said and straightened up. He nodded towards Eli, silently sending him into the cube to go over the footage they had just secretly recorded. Loker excused himself and almost ran into Foster on his way out.

"Cal?" She knocked on his door softly and stopped to see if he was too busy with the clients. They all had their backs on her, since they were sitting on the couch.

When Cal nodded for her to come in, she explained, "I just wanted to let you know that Torres and I will be out for the next two hours. You sure you don't want to come along? Lunch is on the mayor, maybe you get him to spring for a cinnamon…" Gillian trailed off when she recognised the Livingstons who turned around in surprise.

"This is my partner, Dr. Gillian Foster. She'll be doing the interview with me in the afternoon." Cal made the introductions and stared fascinated at the faces of each Livingston who seemed to recognise Gillian.

Daniel found his speech first, but his exclamation of "Gillian!" betrayed his shock.

"Daniel!" Gillian's comeback was not much more original, Cal noted. He gauged his best friend's reaction carefully and mentally catalogued all the different feelings she displayed in the few seconds before she strode over to shake hands with everyone: surprise, anger, shock, delight, love – what the heck? – happiness and – bloody hell – arousal. Smiles were exchanged, shoulders were patted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you know each other?" Cal looked from one party to another. Gillian nodded slowly, trying to piece the puzzle together based on the information she had from their morning session.

"Oh my God! Gill!" Nicole gasped and rushed over to hug Gillian tightly. "I thought I'd never see you again. I'm so sorry."

Gillian was visibly rattled. "Nicole?" She hugged the other woman back. "Is it really you?"

"Whoa? What the hell is going on in here?" Torres exclaimed as she entered Lightman's office in search of Foster.

"Beats me." Cal threw up his hands confused, "You're the natural, you figure it out."


	4. Chapter 2

"There you are." Cal finally found Gillian at their secret spot on the roof. "You cancelled lunch with the mayor."

"I'm sorry. I…" she trailed off and wiped her hand over her face, "I couldn't. Not after…"

Cal stepped up behind her and put his arm around her shoulder. "It's ok. The secretary called to confirm the cancellation, so I sent Loker and Torres instead. They can handle it. Your briefings are always very sound."

Gillian nodded but didn't look up.

"Wanna talk?"

She shook her head no and Cal sighed. She still hadn't turned around so he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I'm a good listener. I do have a PhD in psychology, you know."

Gillian couldn't help but laugh, "You barely scraped by your clinical psychology training, you were always more into research."

"Okay, how about you could really use a good friend right now." He pulled her closer, "Whether you need a hug or a talk, I'm here for you, Foster."

"Just give me a minute to collect my thoughts, ok?"

"Sure, I'll just keep hugging you." He smiled into her shoulder. They watched the traffic pass by below them in silence for a good minute before Gillian finally spoke up.

"Nicole Livingston was my best friend when I was in grade school. We lived on the same street in a little suburb outside of Poughkeepsie. We became inseparable in kindergarten, our mothers always joked they had time-share twins because we spent so much time over at each other's house."

Cal nodded. "You were with her the day she disappeared." He remembered Nicole mentioning her name.

"Yes."

"You had a fight."

"Yes." Gillian whispered and turned around in Cal's arms. She was crying again and buried her head into his shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Foster. You were a kid. Nobody's blaming you."

"I am!" she cried and Cal rocked her softly until she calmed down again.

"I've replayed our fight a hundred times over the years. We were walking home from school because it was so hot. We hated riding in that sticky stinky school bus in summer. School was almost out so my mother had allowed me to have a friend stay for a sleepover. I invited the new girl – I think Simone was her name. Nicole asked me to come over to her place, so I told her Simone and I were having a sleepover. Nicole got miffed – she could be very self-centred – and told me if we were really best friends then she had to be my top priority. I told her to go to hell; I was not going back on my word. Simone was standing right there with us after all, listening to everything. Nicole said if Simone was more important to me than she was, then obviously we weren't best friends anymore. I told her I hated her and didn't want to see her again. Nicole walked away and I never saw her again."

"Still not your fault." Cal whispered softly.

"I told her I hate her!" Gillian objected but Cal hugged her tighter.

"You didn't mean it. You know we say it all the time when we don't really mean it. If I had a dollar, every time Emily yells at me how much she hates me, we wouldn't struggle so much financially."

Gillian chuckled but protested, "It's not the same, you're her father."

"Yeah and you were Nicole's best friend. I'm Emily's father whether she likes it or not but you chose Nicole to be your best friend. I know you, Gillian. You could never hate somebody you loved once." He pulled up her face so she could read the truth in his statement. "And from the looks of it she has forgiven you. She apologised to _you_, not the other way round."

"She did?"

"Yep, I can play the footage for you if you want." He grinned.

"Nah, not necessary. I just…My mind's…Everything's in a haze. I couldn't honestly tell you what happened in the last hour."

"That's understandable. Take the rest of the day off, if you want to."

"No!"

"You're not working this case."

"You can't tell me what I can or cannot do."

"Yes, I can."

"You're not my boss; you can't pull rank on me."

"You're too close."

"I can do my job."

"You're too emotionally involved to read anyone."

"I'm fine."

Cal just sent her a pointed look.

"I'll keep in the background, but please Cal, I need to do something. She was my best friend. I need to know the truth."

"Alright, but if I think you're doing more damage than good I'll take you off the case. It's my name on the door."

"Still can't pull rank on me." Gillian smiled.

Cal rolled his eyes, "How come you've never told me about this before?"

"You didn't ask?"

"Well, excuse me, for not thinking of asking you when we met whether your best elementary school friend was abducted when you were a little girl!" Cal growled indignantly, then softened again, "I mean I thought we were friends?"

"Oh you mean like you've told me all about your chequered past?"

"Touché." Cal conceded but then quipped, "You still owe me that cinnamon roll, though."

Gillian laughed out loud and punched his shoulder.

0~0~0~0~0

"So what do you think happened back at the office?" Loker asked his colleague as they waited for the mayor to show up.

"I don't know. Foster definitely knows the family. How – I don't know but they were all touchy feely and hugging each other."

"And Lightman?"

"I think that's the first time I've seen him speechless."

"Dammit, why do I always miss the good parts?"

"That's the price you pay for being VP."

"Yeah, I'd happily trade my supervisory work with you, if it means I get all the dirty details on Foster and Lightman's past."

"You know for a guy, you like to gossip an awful lot." Ria teased him.

"As a guy I know something I like even more." Eli tried to look at Ria seductively.

She laughed at him, "We've been over this, _boss_."

"Actually, we haven't. You just ended it." He sounded a little bit hurt.

"Do you really think it's such a good idea for us to become involved while I'm technically your subordinate?"

"Ooooh, I like it when you say it like that." He flashed his eyes at her. "Why not? Would you rather we become like Lightman and Foster?"

"Do you think they ever slept with each other?"

Eli shrugged, "Not since I've been working there. I don't think Foster could hide something like that from me."

"Big ego much?"

"Think about it. There's so much unresolved sexual tension between those two, you'd have to be blind and deaf not to notice. I mean even _you_ caught on to it pretty quickly, after you'd started with us."

Torres nodded in agreement. "I concede that the sparks have been really flying between them since her divorce."

"Now imagine if they actually _acted_ on their feelings, all that tension would just evaporate. There's no way in hell they could hide that from us. Not when we're all trained to spot lies, read faces and interpret behaviour."

"Do you think they know about us?" Ria suddenly realised their bosses could be having the exact same question about _them_ somewhere else right now.

Eli shrugged his shoulders, "Anna might have blabbed. Why, are you ashamed of me?"

"No!" Ria shook her head but when she saw Eli's smug grin she raised her eyebrows, "Don't let that go to your head, though."

Their little tête-à-tête was interrupted by the arrival of the mayor.

"Mr. Mayor, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule." Loker shook hands, and then introduced Ria.

"I'll be honest, Mr. Loker, I was disappointed when my secretary told me neither Dr. Lightman nor Dr. Foster could make it."

Eli nodded, "I understand, sir. They wanted to be here but we've just gotten a new case this morning."

"A missing girl." Ria interjected and the mayor raised his eyebrows. She smiled inwardly because he fell for it.

"Uhh, yes, those cases are always time sensitive. Nobody wants anything terrible happening to beautiful little girls."

"Exactly." Eli let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the mayor didn't enquire about the details. He'd certainly be less understanding if he knew Lightman and Foster were blowing him off for a thirty year old kidnapping. "Since both Doctors Lightman and Foster value our partnership with you, they asked me to take over this meeting as the VP of the firm."

Torres observed Loker as he handled the lunch meeting with the mayor rather well. She would have loved to get the promotion for herself, but watching Eli as he steered efficiently through budget figures, solve rates, scientific explanations and legal matters – maybe he _was_ the better pick after all. He obviously knew the firm inside out thanks to all the years he'd spent working for Lightman. Loker was the obvious choice and Torres became convinced that Lightman had been playing with them all along. She just wasn't sure whether he was done pitting them up against each other or if they were the pawns in another one of his long cons.


	5. Chapter 3

"How are you?" Cal sat down opposite Nicole Livingston, who was hooked up to their machines.

"Ok, I guess."

"Now don't let the cables unsettle you. We're just using them to measure simple stuff like your pulse, your body temperature."

"To make sure I'm ok?" Nicole looked at Cal expectantly.

"Yeah, somethin' like that."

Nicole nodded and breathed in and out deeply. "Good, I'm ready. Let's get this over with."

"We're going to start with a few basic questions, like what's you favourite colour?"

"Blue."

"What was the last movie you saw?"

"_Eat, Pray and Love_?" Nicole replied confused. "I love Julia Roberts."

0~0~0~0~0

"Who the hell gives a damn about her favourite food or book?" Daniel huffed as he watched the interview with Loker and Gillian.

"Lightman is trying to establish a baseline." Loker explained, "Normally we'd ask people for their names, address, birth place or age and that kind of thing to establish a baseline for when they are telling the truth. Since Nicole's identity is the very thing that's in question, Lightman takes a slightly unorthodox approach."

Daniel turned towards Gillian for confirmation. She nodded encouragingly, and then returned her attention toward the big screen.

"_Ok, Nicole. Why don't you tell me about the way you found your parents?" Cal asked finally._

"_Sure. I saw them on the news a few months ago. I don't remember what it was about, I just saw this woman on the TV and I felt this…I don't know…this connection. Like I knew her. And then the insert said Mary Livingston. Oh I think I remember now. It was something about stem cell research in congress. They talked about how cancer research could profit from it. That's when the flashbacks started."_

"That was last June." Daniel exchanged a glance with Gillian, and then explained to Loker. "My mother had leukaemia as a child. The cancer came back when I was twenty but thankfully she went into remission again." Gillian walked up to him and hooked her arm with his. "She and dad have always supported medical research for a cure. She survived but at a high cost. The medical treatment made her infertile."

"I'm sorry", Eli blurted, "So you and Nicole are adopted?"

Daniel nodded, "I couldn't have loved Nicole more if we had been real siblings. She _was_ my sister. My parents adored her. She would have never run away from home."

"Oh no, I'm sorry if you thought I'd implied that she was unhappy and ran away. I've just been wondering why you hired us instead of getting a DNA test."

"You didn't tell them?" Daniel turned towards Gillian in surprise.

"You knew?" Loker looked at her surprised.

"I thought they knew. I didn't even realise it was your family until I saw you in the office." Gillian explained to Daniel. "Honestly, it didn't even cross my mind because I knew a DNA test would amount to nothing. It seemed logical to me that you would try a different path."

They returned their attention to what was going on in the cube.

"_After a few weeks I was finally able to locate their new address through this charity foundation. I thought about calling them. I actually picked up the phone a hundred times but my courage left me again and again. What if they had forgotten me? I mean in all those years have they ever tried to find me? They are rich; surely they must have had the money and means at their disposal to search for me, so why hadn't they found me?"_

"She's telling the truth so far. She's correcting herself on little mistakes, she uses contextual embedding – all signs that she is saying the truth." Gillian noted but could not help feeling that something was off.

"_So I finally decided I'd drive to Maryland and confront them in person. That way they couldn't turn me away and I couldn't chicken out again. It took me three days to get there and the trip was awful. It was raining all the time. I remember because I'd thought that may be a bad omen, you know, maybe our reunion was ill-fated. Looks like that might not have been too far from the truth." She looked straight through the ice-glassed window where Gillian and Daniel were observing._

"I know it sounds terrible, Gill, but this is not my sister."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I don't know, I just know." Eli noticed the one-sided shoulder shrug and wondered whether Foster did, too. "I should be happy that I've got my sister back, I tried to believe her, I wanted to believe her but she's not Nicole."

"Well, she's not some complete stranger, either." Loker threw in and pulled up the footage from the earlier interview.

"You recorded that?" Daniel sounded slightly miffed.

"We record everything here." Gillian explained.

Loker hit the play button and explained, "When Dr. Foster entered, you all showed the same expression on your face: surprise and recognition. So did Nicole. You can't fake that."

"Play it back." Gillian saw something else. "Stop it. See it there? That's fear. Why would she be afraid of me?" Gillian looked at the other men as if they knew the answer. "It should be the other way round. I made her leave. And Cal mentioned she apologised to me, as if she forgave me…"

"One second", Loker fast-forwarded to the moment in question.

"This doesn't make sense."

0~0~0~0~0

"Okay, Loker, what have we got?" Cal asked, shrugging off his jacket, as he barged into the lab.

"Well, for starters we know that Nicole was adopted, so that answers the DNA test mystery." Loker shot Gillian a dirty look.

"Oh! Ok. Well, we'll take the long road then." Cal grabbed a candy from Loker's bag on the desk without asking permission.

"So far everything Nicole has said was the truth." Gillian started.

"But?" Loker looked at her curiously.

"But most of what we've been asking could have been well-researched." Cal finished for his friend and popped the gummy bear into his mouth absentmindedly. He pulled a mouth when he realised what he'd just done and cursed Foster's bad influence rubbing off on him.

"She does remember an awful lot of details about our childhood. That's something that a complete stranger would have a very hard time to find out. I mean she remembers about Daniel kicking her out of the room the weekend before she disappeared, how would a complete stranger find out about that?" Gillian wondered.

"Did Daniel ever talk in public about his sister's disappearance?"

"No, I would know. We were very close when we were young. Unless he's done so in the last few years. I can't imagine him doing that, though. He never liked to talk about Nicole, especially about her loss, except with me."

Loker noticed the look Cal was giving Gillian and sensed a storm brewing. "You know. I've been locked up inside here since lunch. I'm going on a coffee break."

Cal waited for Loker to leave the room, before he began, "Just how _close_ were you with Daniel?"

"None of your business, Cal." Was her snarky reply.

"Didn't end too well, did it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just sayin'… after all your last name is Foster and not Livingston."

Gillian rolled her eyes. Cal stepped into her personal space. "You've still got feelings for him."

"As a friend, yes."

"No, it's more…" Cal studied her eyes carefully, "This was not a short fling, was it? Not just a prom date, then. High school sweethearts, huh?" He tilted his head and perused her facial expressions; he noticed the flush creeping up her neck in response to whatever she was thinking, the slight dilation of her pupils. "Was he your…yeah, he was." He couldn't help but smile when she blushed.

She pushed him away forcefully, "Enough, Cal. I'm invoking the line."

"Pen, love?" He picked up a magic marker and offered it to her, glancing at the floor.

"Don't tempt me."

"She recognised you, you know. Nicole. When you walked into my office in the morning. That was genuine."

"I know, Loker played the footage for Daniel and I." She bent over the keyboard and searched for the proper position and froze the image. "What do you see?"

"Fear." Cal cocked his eyebrows, "That's interesting."

Loker came back into the room, balancing three cups of coffee. Cal went over and took one from him. "Thanks."

Gillian smiled gratefully as she took the proffered cup from Eli. "Thank you, Eli."

"You're both welcome." Eli said and pondered his next words carefully. "So I know I'm just the unpaid intern turned VP here but I've got an idea." He gauged their reaction carefully, afraid he overstepped the line.

"Shoot." Gillian nodded encouragingly.

"Well, so far we've had no real luck determining how much of what Nicole says is truth."

"Go on." Cal watched his former protégé with increasing interest. He had a feeling Loker was onto something.

"So I've been thinking, either it is really Nicole and Daniel is so against her because he's hiding something that made her leave and he's afraid of what she might reveal."

Gillian shot him a shut-up look, accompanied with the non-verbal equivalent of _Oh, please!_

"Or this is not Nicole Livingston. Which means she is an excellent con artist who's really done her homework. I mean she remembers details about the time before her abduction, albeit a bit hazy, which have been partially confirmed by Dr. Foster."

"No!" Cal interrupted Eli before he could continue.

"Cal! What's the matter with you? Let him finish. Continue, Eli."

"I said, no!" Cal shook his head and crossed his arms. "I do not want you interrogating Nicole Livingston. You're too emotionally involved. This could backfire on the entire investigation."

Gillian looked towards Loker for confirmation of his intentions. His nod conceded that Cal was right.

"While I don't think Cal is right in his reasoning I'm not sure how this would help us solve the case. I mean if she's fake she'll just claim she won't remember."

"Ahh, but Nicole, if that's her name, has been so far very forthcoming with little details. You've said it yourself; she's using a lot of contextual embedding. So either she's a natural born liar or she's telling the truth. Now if she's a con artist, she may be tempted to embellish her stories to make you believe she remembers. I say we put you two together in a room and you just chat about when you were small."

"I hate to say it but I'd actually like to try Loker's idea. Maybe we can at least find out what her reaction towards meeting you again was all about."

Gillian nodded.

"We're not doing it in the cube, though. We're going to tell her it's just a conversation among friends. You claim your shrink status and all that psychobabble about letting your repressed memories out. We'll record it and Loker and I will observe in the lab."

Gillian nodded and started to pack up her things. Eli followed suit.

"Calling it a night?" Cal asked innocently.

Gillian huffed, "I'm meeting Daniel for dinner."

Cal nodded, "Have fun."

Eli spotted the folder with the mayor's seal between his blue folders and exclaimed, "Oh! Before I forget. Here's the mayor's brief." He handed it over to Gillian.

"Thank you, Loker. I forgot to ask. How did it go?"

"Very well. He was a bit upset that you stood him up but Ria and I managed to pour oil on troubled water. He gave me this, though", Eli reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a white envelope with the official seal of the mayor, "He said no excuses. You and Dr Lightman are both to attend the mayor's party."

Gillian smiled excited and Cal groaned, unnerved. She snatched the envelope from Eli's hand and chirped enthusiastically, "Clean your tux, Cal" as she brushed past him.

Loker cleared his throat, "So, this Daniel guy?"

"Mhm." Cal was still standing with his arms crossed watching the door Gillian just flew through.

"Major troubles ahead."

"I beg your pardon?" Cal looked at his employee with an expression that threatened demotion if he overstepped that line of personal interaction. He wouldn't put it past Loker to give him relationship advice with his whole radical honesty shit.

"When Foster asked him why he was so sure it wasn't Nicole, he did a one-sided shoulder shrug when he said he didn't know why. That guy's lying his ass off."

"I know, Loker. I know." Cal grumbled and pondered what his next step would be.


	6. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note**__: First of all, thanks for all the reviews. Second, I shouldn't have to say this, but just to be safe, we're heading into sexy waters here soon. So if the M rating didn't tip you off, turn around and head back to the safe coast now._

* * *

><p>"Stop fumbling with your tie, Cal." Gillian said as she came to a halt next to her friend, who had spent the better part of the evening at the open bar.<p>

"It's suffocating me!" Cal protested like a petulant child and Gillian couldn't help but smile. "You like that, don't you, Foster? A bit into the alternative life-style there, eh? And here I thought you were a good girl." Gillian just shook her head, ignoring his mood while fixing his tie, barely resisting drawing it a little bit too tight. She knew better than to indulge her partner's sour mood.

"It's okay. I wouldn't mind. Though I really hoped I'd get to tie you up first before we went to town on the _really_ kinky stuff." Cal flashed his eyes seductively at her.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid, it doesn't suit you. I know exactly what you were contemplating when you fixed my tie and collar."

"_Cal_!" Gillian scolded and rolled her eyes, sighing deeply, "Why are you hiding here anyway?"

Cal shot her a look that said, now _that_'s a deception if I ever heard one, but replied, "Because you put me into a monkey suit and dragged me here? And who says I'm hiding? Can't a bloke spend some quality time with his best friend?"

"You mean Johnnie Walker?" She looked at him challengingly, and refrained from putting her hands on her hips, lest he get a rise out of reading her body posture. "It's good for business, Cal. It's the mayor's party. Besides, it was all Clara's doing, she got us the invitation and we can use the contacts. So why don't you go and mingle?"

Cal threw up his arms in resignation, "Don't think I didn't try, love. Nobody wants to talk to me at these events. The minute they find out what I do for a living, they bolt!"

"And you wouldn't happen to introduce yourself by exposing a liar or two?" He looked at her innocently but Gillian didn't believe him for a second. "Thought so. You're impossible, Cal!"

"I know. Don't say I didn't give you a heads up. I told you I suck at parties." Cal turned around and motioned for the bartender to refill his glass but Gillian put her hand on it and shook her head no at him.

"I think you've had enough for tonight. I don't want to have to drag your drunken ass home. You've got Emily this weekend."

"Fine. Whatever." He grumbled and cast her a look but Gillian's eyes were trained on the dance floor. She'd camouflaged her longing well enough for anyone else but to Cal she practically screamed sadness and loneliness. For a minute, he studied her as she watched the other couples dance. Initially he was going to point out all the ones whose marriage was on the rocks to make her feel better but then he thought, oh well, to hell with it. Once she found out about his secret, she would pester him till eternity, but that was a price he realized he was more than willing to pay.

He reached out for her hand and pulled her softly towards him, "May I have this dance?" He looked at her with his eyebrows raised in question and broke out into a grin when Gillian nodded ever so slightly. He jumped off the bar stool and walked over to the dance floor, never letting go of her hand. The band was playing a moderate cha-cha-cha, and Cal twirled Gillian softly into his arms.

"It's been a while," Gillian interjected, worried she might step onto his toes, but Cal quickly pulled her flush against his chest and eased them into a nice rhythm.

"I'm a bit rusty myself. I hear it's like riding a bike. Just follow my lead!" he smiled at her encouragingly and after a few basic steps he loosened his grip on her hand indicating he was going to spin her. The laugh on Gillian's face, when he caught her back in his arms after, made his heart skip a beat. It had been a long time since he had seen that carefree expression on her face.

Over the past year too many lunatics had jeopardized either of their lives and the demise of her marriage had not exactly helped. He knew he should have felt sorry that things with the juvie psychologist hadn't worked out, either, but truth be told he never liked the bloke. He wasn't good enough for Gillian. And after Alec Foster, Cal swore no man would ever hurt Gillian the way her ex-husband had. He knew better than to tell Gillian of his suspicions right away, respecting her use of the line, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep an eye on Captain America all the time.

"This is fun!" Gillian exclaimed excitedly, "I didn't know you could dance. How did you get so good?"

"Practice with Emily." He replied as a matter of fact.

"Let me guess…she's made you watch _Dancing With The Stars_?"

Cal groaned, "Every single bloody episode until season eight."

"The things we do for love." Gillian smirked.

"And as if that wasn't enough she wanted to try out all the dances with me."

"Oh, so that's where you've been getting your work out." She teased and squeezed his upper arm for good measure.

"Watch it or I might drop you." Cal uttered but the mirth in his voice betrayed his true feelings. When Gillian rolled her eyes at him at the next exchange of hands, Cal gave her a bit more of a forceful push, causing her to twirl around. Caught off guard, Gillian had slight troubles to keep her footing but Cal had her back in his arms in no time, leading them back into a secure rhythm. His look clearly conveyed, "I told ya so", and Gillian couldn't help but giggle. Now it was Cal's turn to roll his eyes at her while Gillian thought this was the best part of the entire evening.

As if on cue, the music grew softer and slower with people clapping politely and before they could truly savour the moment, the band stopped playing. Gillian sighed and leant in to give Cal a soft kiss on the cheek, "Thank you. That was the perfect ending to a boring evening." The band moved on to their next song, a slow number, and Gillian readied herself to break away from Cal. He, however, had none of it and pulled her even closer, beginning to sway them along softly to the music. He tightened his hold around her back, as he brought their joined hands to his chest. He cocked his head slightly to his right and gazed into her eyes. She looked beautiful. Positively ravishing.

"Have I even told you how absolutely breathtaking you look tonight? _No_? Well, you love, just about take my breath away." A huge grin broke out on his face, as his compliment conjured a shy smile onto her face. His eyes settled on her lips, the same lips he had kissed not so long ago. It had been intended as a quick and sloppy kiss, but then she kissed him back and he deepened their next kiss – partially because he could get away with it in their undercover roles and partially out of retaliation for her hand stroking his thigh. Oh God, just the thought of it made him hard again.

Gillian looked up before he could slip his mask back on and the badly disguised surprise on her face told him she'd seen his arousal. Seen? Scratch that. Felt, since she'd just brushed against his crotch innocently. Cal bit back a groan and then heard himself say, "If you keep this up, I might just have to ravish you right here and now."

Gillian's head jerked up in surprise. Oh the micro-expression on her face was a priceless classic right now. Was that a mischievous twinkle in her eyes?

"Is that a promise or a threat?" She flirted with him. _Gillian bloody Foster was openly flirting with him!_

"A guarantee." His lips descended over hers.

"The line, Cal!" Gillian protested meekly, but Cal pressed his mouth against hers in a searing kiss that silenced her. The pressure of his lips pried her mouth softly open. Cal let his tongue run teasingly across her upper lip in a silent question seeking permission to deepen the kiss. Gillian's tongue darted out to play with his and Cal followed her invitation happily.

For a few minutes they escaped their surroundings in a passionate kiss before reality caught up with them. Realising that the music had stopped and people were watching them, Cal pulled back and said under his breath, "Fuck the line!"

The next few minutes went by in a blur. Cal grabbed Gillian's hand and led her off the dance floor and out of the ballroom. He managed to procure a room for the night and before Gillian fully comprehended what was going on he'd pushed her inside the elevator. Cal pressed the correct button for their floor and slipped the key card into his pocket. He quickly pushed another button to close the doors and stepped beside Gillian, hoping no one else would join them on their ride. The minute the doors closed, Gillian turned towards Cal and crashed her lips against his. She grabbed his head and buried her fingers deeply in his hair. Cal moaned into her mouth and pushed her against the wall. They kissed fervently, their tongues toying playfully with each other. His left hand trailed up her leg, while his right hand squeezed her waist gently. Gillian's hands slid down his neck, nape and shoulders, keeping Cal in a tight embrace. Her skin was so soft it was enticing him to draw lazy circles on her thigh, inching closer to her core. He heard Gillian's soft moans in reaction to his tender ministrations and realised this was heaven. Her fingers snuck between his dinner jacket and shirt, pulling him into her as she pressed her body against his erection.

"You're driving me crazy, Foster." He whispered against her lips. If just making out with Gillian Foster made him feel like this, then he wondered how he could ever last long enough to please her? He hooked her leg around his waist, so he could grind his hips harder into her. Gillian moaned his name in response and Cal thought he'd never liked the sound of his name better. With any other woman he would have long since stopped the elevator and just taken her, but Gillian deserved more: privacy in a room, leisurely exploration of their bodies, the comfort of a bed. And so he found it easy to slow down their kisses when they heard the ping from the elevator, indicating they had arrived on their floor. Gillian stole a few more pecks while Cal smoothed out her dress. They rested on their foreheads against each other's and smiled mischievously.


	7. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note:**__You have been warned. Don't read this at work! LOL Some smut to carry you over the holiday weekend! Enjoy or if this is not your cup of tea, stay tuned for the next instalment._

* * *

><p>Gillian sidestepped Cal as the doors opened, and pulled him by his tie impatiently after her. They followed the signs to their room and Cal was immensely pleased they had no key card fiasco. It worked like a charm the first time, so he held the door open for Gillian to enter. He quickly hung out the do not disturb sign, closed the door and turned the lock. He felt Gillian's body pressed against his back and her teeth grazing his neck.<p>

"You smell so wonderful tonight; I just had to taste you."

"Funny, that exact same thought went through my mind in the lift." Cal tried to turn around but Gillian blocked him.

"Uh-uh." She whispered in his ear. "You were a very naughty boy in the elevator. It's time for payback." She spoke as her hands reached around his waist to unbuckle his belt. She playfully bit his neck and soothed the angry red mark with her tongue, while her fingers lowered the fly. Cal bit back a groan and held his breath but Gillian knew he was on the verge of passion. His pulse was running high and his breathing heavy – all indicators that his arousal was climbing toward its peak. She gave his dress pants a gentle push and they pooled at his feet. Cal could hold his groans back no longer, when Gillian rested her hand on his penis through the thin fabric of his briefs.

"You like that?" He heard the laughter in her voice and knew she was enjoying torturing him.

"You're killing me, Foster." He hissed, as his hips bucked up involuntarily.

"You know what they say, Cal."

"No, what?" She had to suppress a chuckle at the eagerness in his voice.

"Payback's a bitch." He half expected her to leave him high and dry in order to punish him for something he didn't even remember he'd done. However, after a beat of silence, Gillian slipped her hand inside his briefs and began to stroke him. Cal didn't think it possible but he felt himself getting even harder at Gillian's touch. He reached down and stilled her hand.

"Careful, love, we don't want the night to be over too soon." He shucked off his shoes and pants and turned around to look her in the eyes. "After all I've paid for the whole night so we can use that really comfortable looking king-sized bed." As he said the words he approached the bed in long strides, forcing Gillian to walk backwards before him.

"It would be a shame if we didn't use it." She grinned at him and kissed him passionately. Cal's fingers went around to her back, searching for the zipper of her dress.

"I've been wanting to do this all night", he whispered and pulled down the zipper so he could push the red dress off her shoulders. He leaned in and kissed her shoulder, mumbling something about vanilla and cherry. Gillian laughed because she realised he was talking about the scent of her body lotion and perfume. He stopped his tender ministrations and looked up to see what she found so amusing.

"Told you I loved your scent." He shrugged and paid the same attention to Gillian's other shoulder. She let her fingers trail through his hair and played with a few strands at the nape of his neck. They both moaned at the touch of the other, not getting enough of each other. Cal pulled Gillian's dress further down and let his lips trail across her chest.

"Naughty, naughty girl." She felt his smile on her skin, before his mouth covered a nipple. Cal clearly enjoyed his discovery of Gillian arriving without a bra to the party. He tried to remember whether he could feel any panties in the elevator and cursed the fact that he had not dared touch her there yet. "Please tell me you're going commando tonight."

"Well…as a matter of fact this is a rather form-fitting dress and I didn't want there to be any visible panty lines." Cal stopped what he was doing and looked up at Gillian with disbelief and hope. His eyes said don't kid with me, woman, as his hands travelled down her sides to feel for her panties underneath the dress. Finding no change in texture he flicked her a look of passion.

"Dress. Off. Now." He growled and kissed her hungrily. Four hands worked together to get the sexy garment off Gillian's body as quickly as possible. Cal's hands wandered across her naked body as his tongue became more and more demanding. Gillian met his passion measure for measure and kiss for kiss. She loosened the knot of his tie, pulling the silky fabric apart, so she could reach the buttons of his shirt.

She broke the kiss and breathed huskily, "You clean up nice. You were the hottest guy down there."

Cal was about to reply that Emily had picked out the outfit for him but for some reason he thought bringing up his teenage daughter would kill the mood. So instead he growled "_likewise"_ and captured Gillian's lips again. Her fingers were quickly unbuttoning his shirt and soon he could feel her hands raking over his naked skin. He moaned into her mouth and pulled her flush to his chest until they were skin to skin. Gillian gasped at the newfound intimacy and revelled at their skin-on-skin contact for the first time.

Cal turned them, so he could nudge Gillian gently onto the bed. She scooted up while he shrugged off his shirt. Cal stared at the woman lying in front of him and felt time stop. He took his time taking in every curve, memorising every freckle. He caught Gillian's shy look, a bashful smile gracing her lips, betraying her nervousness.

"You're beautiful. Magnificent like a work of art." He whispered in wonder. He crawled onto the mattress and pulled himself up and over her. He gazed into her eyes lovingly. "We don't have to do this, if you're not ready."

Gillian shook her head and reached for his briefs. "No, I want you."

"We can always stop," He said emphatically as he lifted his hips to make it easier for Gillian to take off his last piece of clothing. Cal felt a rush of pride wash over him when he saw Gillian's reaction to seeing him naked for the first time. She definitely liked what she saw.

He had been worried because he was slightly out of shape, compared to super buff Captain America anyway. Her eyes travelled over his body, studying his muscles and pectorals before they finally landed on his cock. Her fingers followed the path her eyes had just laid out, drawing out the moment until they reached the prized target. A drop of pre-come glistened on his tip, waiting for her finger to spread it around his head. Cal stifled a cry and his hips bucked into her hand against his will, when her fingers wrapped around him. She captured his lips between hers and nibbled softly on his lower lip, her strokes becoming stronger and more determined.

"Oh no, you don't. Little vixen." He smiled affectionately but stilled her hand and pulled it away. He placed her hand above her head, and then repeated the same action with the other. He hovered above her, poised to enter her, looking at her.

"Now Cal!" Gillian pushed her hips up and reached for his penis to slip him inside.

Cal shook his head and moved her hands back above her head. "What am I going to do with you?" A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes as he leaned over the edge of the bed and reached for his shirt. He pulled out the tie from underneath his collar and cocked his eyebrows at her.

"I distinctly remember hearing you say you liked to be tied up."

Gillian's eyes flashed with excitement, which was all the encouragement Cal needed. He quickly tied her hands above her head, before he kissed her passionately. With her hands out of commission Gillian wriggled her hips against his body, to let him know how desperate she was for his touch. She arched her back, so her breasts pressed into his chest. Cal broke the kiss and let his lips wander down her neck to her breasts. He took one nipple into his mouth and began to suck eagerly. Gillian moaned his name over and over, grinding her hips harder against his. Cal laughed and ignored her as he lavished her other nipple with the same attention. He took his sweet time discovering her body with his lips, mentally cataloguing all her sensitive spots.

"Cal, please. I _beg_ you. I'm so close. I need you inside me."

"Are you sure? This will change everything." His voice took on a serious tone and the expression in his eyes matched it, as he positioned himself above her.

"I've been waiting for this moment for years. Make love to me." She admitted and kissed him. Cal raised his eyebrows at her time reference but let it go. No need to ruin the mood. They'd talk about it in the morning.

He deepened the kiss and shifted his weight, so he could line himself up at her entrance. He interrupted their kiss for a second to glance at her eyes, asking for permission to make her his. Gillian smiled reassuringly and captured his lips between hers. She teased him by flicking her tongue repeatedly across his lips, anticipating his next move. He slipped between her folds and felt Gillian's breath hitch. He couldn't help but think she was made for him as he pushed his cock inside her. She fit him like a glove. A wonderful, perfect, tight, wet glove. "Foster!" He sighed deeply against her lips, knowing he had arrived home. He broke their kiss and watched Gillian's face.

"Open your eyes, love."

Gillian did as asked and looked at him curiously.

"I want to look into your eyes when we do this." He said and set up a nice rhythm. Gillian's eyes rolled back with a moan and Cal chuckled. She closed her eyes again, overwhelmed by the pleasure. He had to admit he was struggling to keep his emotions in check, too. On the one hand he wanted this union to last, on the other hand he wanted to pump into her with oblivion until she screamed his name. He could already feel the telltale signs of his approaching orgasm so he slowed down.

Gillian's eyes opened and looked at him worried. Cal stopped his movements and looked her deeply in the eyes. "I know this is probably the worst possible moment to tell you this but I love you, Foster. I always have and I always will."

Tears welled up in Gillian's eyes and he quickly brushed them away. She shook her head and replied, "It's ok. I can read it on your face. And it's a little bit late to say it only to get into my pants." She smiled at him and tugged at her ties. Cal's eyes shot up and read her need to touch him, so he quickly loosened the knot. Gillian's hands flew to his cheeks, where she scratched his stubble. Cal closed his eyes and pressed his face deeper into her touch.

"Look at me, Cal." She prompted him and he obliged, "I love you, too." She kissed him softly but their passion overtook quickly and Cal started to thrust into her again. Gillian moaned into his mouth and Cal thought it was the sexiest thing he'd ever experienced.

She broke their kiss and encouraged him to go harder. She giggled when he raised his eyebrows, but quickly complied. With her hands free, Gillian grabbed his ass and pulled him deeper inside her. Cal was determined not to come before her, so he went back to stimulating her nipples with his tongue.

Gillian arched her back into him, calling out his name. Cal looked up with a smug but goofy grin. "Patience, love. It's a virtue."

Gillian glared at him, "Fuck me like you mean it. I'm so close. I want to come all over your cock."

Cal's eyes widened in shock at her use of crude language, he almost wanted to protest that they were making love rather than fucking, but instead he growled, '"Your wish is my command." His right hand slid up underneath her shoulder for leverage, while his other one snuck between their bodies in search of her nub. He applied gentle pressure, caressing her clit, while he hammered into her.

"Oh yeah, Cal. Just like that. I'm so close. More. More!" Her head dropped back in ecstasy.

"Oh fuck, Gillian, I'm gonna come!" He closed his eyes, trying to think of anything to stave off the inevitable. He would never have pegged Gillian Foster to be someone to talk dirty in bed and, quite honestly, hearing her say those things was more than he could handle.

"Deeper, Cal. Take me with you." Her arms wrapped around his torso tightly in order to maximize their skin contact. "Almost there, babe. Oh yes, come for me." She tugged on his head and kissed him hard. It was all Cal could take. He plunged into her deeply a few more times, feeling her tightening around him. She cried out when her orgasm hit her – his name on her lips. Cal's body stiffened and he held himself completely still, when he felt the first wave of his orgasm. Gillian clutched him tightly, and her walls spasmed around his cock. Whispering his name over and over again, she rode out her climax. Cal groaned deeply when he flooded her with his semen. A sloppy thrust here, an involuntary hip jerk there – he buried his head into the pillow as he came down from his high. God, it should be forbidden to feel this good. Cal felt all the tension leave his body, as he rested his head next to hers exhausted, listening to her ragged breathing.

"Wow!" She finally uttered, once she found her voice again. "Just... _wow_!" And then she started to giggle. Cal lifted his head and looked at her from beneath his eyelashes with a smug grin. She looked thoroughly fucked with her hair tousled, her lips swollen and her skin flush. He had never seen a sexier sight in his life. He could not resist a few gentle thrusts to seal their union, making her sigh contentedly.

"I love you, Cal." She said before he could pull out. She palmed his cheek and studied his eyes carefully.

He pulled back up and kissed her longingly in response.


	8. Chapter 6

When he woke up the next morning Cal instinctively reached out for Gillian's body. He nestled into the warmth that was moulded perfectly into him and pressed an absentminded kiss into her hair. Waking up like that felt wonderful. It was just about then that Cal realised Gillian's body was too soft and he'd been hugging a pillow. Puzzled he lifted his head and blinked a few times. He disentangled himself from sheets and pillow, which he both recognised.

Bloody hell! He was in his own room! He looked around with the vain hope that it had not been all a dream but Gillian was nowhere near in sight. All he found was a cold and empty space on the other side of the bed. Cal let his head fall back into his pillow with a groan and stared at the ceiling. What a dream it had been, though! Usually Cal couldn't remember his dreams of the past night but this one was different. It had felt so real. How could his subconscious play such a cruel trick on him? He had not had an erotic dream of this intensity since he was a schoolboy trying to get a look at Sally Robinson's knickers. He peeked underneath the cover and one look at his shorts confirmed his suspicions.

On a professional level Cal understood that his dreams were his brain's way of processing the events of the day. On a personal level, he wondered what had induced his wet dream. He usually did not analyse his dreams, if he could remember them at all, but this was Foster we were talking about. Freud, Cal mused, would take great pleasure at his situation.

He threw back the covers and shucked his boxers, a movement he instantly regretted, when the dried cum stains rubbed against his sensitive skin. Oh my god, just how intense was his orgasm last night, if he'd humped himself half-raw? He marched over into the ensuite bathroom for a warm shower to clean up.

Cal did not have to think long and hard to know where his dream came from. There had always been some sexual tension between him and Foster. They weren't stupid; they could see the flicker of arousal in each other's eyes. But they were also intelligent and educated people who knew that sexual arousal did not automatically equal love. They had both been happy in their marriages, so they had never given their flirtatious bantering a second thought. There was nothing wrong with getting an appetite somewhere else as long as dinner got served at home. Even when his marriage turned sour and after his divorce Foster had always been taboo. She was Alec's wife and he had respected their marriage. Cal Lightman might have been a ladies' man but he was not a home wrecker. That didn't keep Gillian from the occasional guest appearance in his dreams, of course. Though it had never been of such an explicit sexual nature as last night's. Sure, he had dreamt of kissing her, once or twice they made out in his mind, but in the end she was always the unattainable perfect woman he could not have. So what had changed?

Their first real kiss, of course. It didn't really count because they were undercover and it was all part of an act. However…even though the possibility of PDAs for their roles had been discussed, neither of them had explicitly mentioned the possibility of the kiss. Well, kisses, to be precise. She had kissed him back. And come to think of it, she _wanted_ him to kiss her in the first place. She was the one who gave him the sultry look and tilted her head in an invitation to maul her lips.

Cal stopped soaping up his body and contemplated if Gillian's actions meant something beyond the obvious. She had initiated all the intimacy at the porn movie company. She was the one who stroked his thigh in a place where he would have never dared to put his hand if their roles had been reversed. He marvelled at his self-discipline from keeping himself from springing a boner – though he mused that probably would have been standard fare in the environment they were in. They had not discussed what kind of public displays of affection they would use specifically. The words peck, touching and flirting were dropped but they'd known each other so long, they always played these situations by ear. Of course, this meant that Gillian chose to stroke his thigh. She chose to kiss him, well, to have him kiss her. She chose to palm his cheek. And she chose to wipe her lipstick off of his lips. He didn't force her to. But what did it mean? Was she playing with him? Did she try to rile him up on purpose? Maybe it was her way of getting back at him for interfering in her relationship with Burns?

Cal turned on the shower and rinsed off his body. He stepped out and wrapped a towel around his hips. Nah, Gillian Foster was not that kind of person. This, of course, left only one other possible explanation. She did it because she felt comfortable doing so, which meant she liked doing it. She _enjoyed_ touching him intimately. Where did that leave them, though? Was Gillian secretly contemplating acting on their feelings? For some reason he didn't really see her as the type of person who would go for a friends with benefits agreement, so could she possibly be toying with the idea of them dating? Nah, she had just broken up with Burns.

Cal looked at himself in the mirror and groaned in frustration. It wasn't until her divorce almost a year ago that he began to truly notice her as a woman. Sure, he'd checked her out a couple of times when he thought she wasn't looking but he figured he'd only borrow trouble if he started to fantasize about his best friend and business partner. When she cornered him in that pink dress, confronting him about the financial stunt he'd pulled on the company, he had a hard time focusing on what she was saying. He'd gone straight home after work and indulged in a lengthy masturbation session, starring Gillian Foster in her hot new outfit. He wondered if he could implement a new company policy requiring Foster to wear pink once a week. Pink looked really, _really_ good on her. And after all she'd said herself that she loved wearing it.

When he returned from his vacation with Emily he briefly considered asking her out. He felt a pang of jealousy when he spotted the roses from Radar. Maybe he was already too late. What was the appropriate waiting period before you asked a woman mourning the loss of her marriage anyway? Damn Jack Radar for interfering with his business again. Relief washed over him, when he saw on Gillian's face that she didn't seriously consider Radar as a potential suitor, even though she felt flattered. And that was when it hit him. To the best of his knowledge, Gillian had never dated another man in almost ten years. And considering his line of work, he'd know if she was seeing someone since her break up with Alec. Cal realised he couldn't do it. He couldn't risk their friendship, nor could he jeopardize the success of their company, only to satisfy his curiosity as to what it would be like to have Gillian Foster writhing underneath him. But most of all, he realised, he simply could not bear the thought of being the rebound guy.

So he put up a brave front and teased her about the banker, slept with the next best blonde in Vegas, and even encouraged Burns to hook up with Gillian. All in order to pretend he didn't care. In the end he didn't know whom he was trying to fool – Burns, Gillian or himself. In any case, it wasn't working. In light of all the things that had happened to them over the past couple of months, it became increasingly clearer to Cal that the nature of his feelings towards Gillian had changed. It was not simply a matter of sexual attraction any more. God help him, but he was falling harder for her every day. He secretly delighted in the rare moments something he had said or done put a smile on her face. He claimed she was smothering and mothering him, but there wasn't anyone else in the world he wanted to look after him.

Maybe it was time. Maybe he should just get it over with and ask her out. Be a man and take matters into his own hands. After all they would gain nothing from hidden innuendos, loaded looks and innocent flirting. Chances were one of them would get hurt. No the best policy in this case was to just come forward and see how she reacts. What's the worst that could happen? Well, she could say no. Maybe he _should_wait a bit longer and suss things out. Loaded looks and innocent flirting suddenly became very intriguing again. He'd been dancing precariously close to their line over the last few months; maybe he'd push their boundaries a bit and gauge her reaction. Yeah, that's exactly what he would do. He just had to get rid of that Daniel first. That tosser could seriously throw a wrench into his plans.

0~0~0~0~0

"I was afraid you'd changed your mind." Daniel greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

Gillian smiled apologetically, "The traffic was horrible. It would have been faster if I'd walked."

"No kidding. I hate doing business in D.C." Daniel nodded understandingly and pulled out her chair for her. Gillian sat down and looked at him curiously.

"What?" Daniel asked self-consciously.

"I'm still having a hard time reconciling the boy with the long hair in the hard rock T-shirt I once knew with the dapper business man in a GQ suit standing in front of me." She smiled.

"You think I'm dapper?" He flashed his eyes at her excited and hopeful.

"I've always liked a tall, dark and handsome man in an exquisite suit." She flirted back.

"That's what happens when you're heir apparent to a multi-million dollar business." Daniel sat down opposite her and took her hand in his. "So how has life been treating you all those years? I notice you have a different name."

Obviously Daniel didn't want to beat around the bush. Not only was he holding hands with her, but he'd also addressed the obvious issue heads on. "I'm divorced." She nodded. "What about you?"

"Never been married."

"Really?"

"Nope. Never found the right one."

They were interrupted by the waiter bringing the menus and taking their drink orders. Daniel requested a pricey bottle of Chateau-Lafite, but Gillian knew it was more out of habit than to impress her. The Livingstons had always enjoyed a good glass of wine with their meals, she remembered from shared dinners in the past. Daniel's parents also always allowed them to drink a glass when they were technically still underage. All the other kids in high school thought he had the coolest parents. But Gillian knew better.

Daniel's mom was aware of Gillian's father's disease. It was her way of showing Gillian that not everyone turned into the devil when they came in contact with alcohol. As long as you enjoyed it in moderation there was nothing bad about having a drink or two. She'd once asked Mrs. Livingston why she encouraged her and Daniel to consume alcohol. Mrs. Livingston had replied that she wasn't stupid and knew they'd try it out on their own anyway. She'd rather they do it under her supervision than getting shit-faced and doing something stupid. Gillian chuckled, she would never forget how Daniel's prim-and-proper mother pronounced the word _shit-faced_. It just seemed so out of place.

They perused the menu for a few moments before Daniel closed his and gazed at Gillian thoughtfully.

"What?" she asked when she looked up and noticed him staring.

"I'm just contemplating whether I would still be able to order for you." Daniel grinned.

"Oh." Gillian laughed back, "Try me." She closed her menu and looked at him enthusiastically.

Daniel opened the menu again and studied the different entries. "Well, I know for certain that we won't leave without you having the chocolate-truffle-cake." He winked at her and Gillian blushed.

"You know me too well."

Daniel shrugged his shoulders, "Certain things never change. You've always had a sweet tooth. I'll never forget when you ate half your birthday cake, while the other kids were outside playing." He laughed.

"Mom was furious." Gillian joined him.

"What did you expect? She had a horde of ten-year-olds running loose in her yard, waiting to be fed." He smirked, "And you looked so cute with the icing smeared across your mouth."

"And I got so sick from all the sugar that night."

"I know. You puked on my shoes!"

"Oh my God! I'd totally forgotten that." Gillian hid her face in her hands.

"Now that made _my_ mom furious because they were brand new. We'd just bought them the day before because I wanted to impress you."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I mean you were always so fashion conscious, I figured if I wanted to keep you around I'd have to keep your attention somehow."

"I'm sorry I ruined your shoes."

"Nah, they didn't fit me well anyway. Actually they were very uncomfortable." Daniel chuckled.

Suddenly Gillian burst out into hysterical laughter. "What?"

She shook her head in amusement, "You know when you were fourteen I thought you were gay because you talked so much about fashion."

"What?" He gaped at her, "I only did it for you!"

"I know that now" Gillian laughed, "but back then you really had me worried."

"Well, we both know I'm not gay." Daniel said and suddenly the air was charged with emotions. Gillian thanked the waiter who approached them with the wine bottle. He filled the bottom of Daniel's glass, waiting for him to taste and approve, before he poured the wine into Gillian's glass and topped off Daniel's. He asked whether they were ready to order and when both nodded, he wrote down their choices.

"So how long have you been working with Lightman? You two seem pretty cosy."

"Oh Cal and I go back a long time. We met about seven years ago at the DOD."

"You worked for the Defence Department?"

"Yes, I did counselling for them."

"Interesting."

"Anyway, I was intrigued with his science. While Cal is mostly interested in finding out when people are lying, I'm more curious about the why. You know?"

Daniel nodded.

"So when Cal left the DOD, he asked me if I wanted to join him and head up a firm that specialises in deception detection in all walks of life. He said we'd make a pretty good team with him spotting the liars and me finding out their motivations."

"That's really cool what you are doing. So you and Cal are partners then."

"Mmhmm", Gillian nodded, taking a sip of her wine, and picked up too late on the undertone, "but no, not like that. We're just friends."

"Ok."

The food arrived and their conversation took a backseat to their appetites.

"And you're working for your father?"

Daniel nodded and wiped his mouth with his napkin, "He's still on the board of trustees but I have effectively taken over the company."

"Do you like it?"

"Honestly?" Gillian nodded her head. "At the beginning I almost shit my pants handling so much money. I mean this wasn't business school anymore. This was people's hard earned money. I didn't sleep for weeks until dad took me aside and talked to me about the responsibilities."

"What did he say to you?"

"He told me he was glad that's how I felt because it showed my heart was in the right place. It would keep me from taking too high a risk."

"And that helped?" She stared at him in disbelief.

"No, but the other advice he gave me did."

"Which was?"

"Think of the dollar signs as sour drops."

"Sour drops?" Gillian thought she must have misheard him.

"Dad loves sour drops."

"I know but…" Gillian shook her head not really understanding Daniel's point, so he explained it further.

"Well, when you handle so much money all day it can be frightening, because when you make a mistake you don't lose your week's worth of pocket money. I'm talking millions of dollars here. Sometimes that keeps you from taking the necessary risks, even though you know you've got a really good deal. So when you're shell-shocked by all the dollar signs in front of the large figures you just think sour drops. You're just selling three billion sour drops – and suddenly it's not so hard to click on that little button and do it."

"I see."

"Of course now I get a craving for sour drops every time I open my wallet and see a dollar bill." Daniel laughed.

"But it works?"

"Like a charm."

Gillian shook her head in amusement. "I've always loved your dad."

"He's always really liked you too." Daniel confessed, "He was really upset with me when we broke up."

"Daniel…"

"No, let me finish. I know what's past is past. But I also know that I made a really, really bad mistake twenty years ago when I let you go. I was stupid and selfish. I hurt you and for that I can never apologise enough."

"It wasn't just you, Daniel." Gillian explained. "We were both young and we'd been together such a long time. In a way you breaking up with me was the best thing that could have happened to me."

Daniel looked at her hurt.

"It forced me to take a real good look at myself. I had to find out who I was, _really_ was. You know, me - Gillian, not the Gill part of Dan and Gill. Sure I cried a lot over our break up and I hated you so much, for years I wished you all kinds of STDs in college… but in hindsight, you did me a favour. You did us both a favour."

"I don't know, I can't help but think of it as the biggest mistake of my life."

"No", she shook her head convinced, "If we'd stayed together, if we'd gotten married? It would have ended horribly. We would have drifted apart. We would have never truly known who we are as individuals. We would have clipped each other's wings and would have grown to resent each other for hindering our dreams. I found out so much about myself in college I never knew was in me during high school. And I'm sure the same is true for you to some extent."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So don't beat yourself up about what happened so long ago. It's all water under the bridge."

Daniel watched Gillian silently as she tucked into her chocolate cake. He smiled bemused at the sounds of pleasure she made as she indulged in the sweet treat. Then he broke the silence and said, "What if I don't want it all to be water under the bridge?"

Gillian coughed and reached for her glass. She gasped for air, as she stared at him in shock.

"Oh come on, Gill. You _must_ have noticed. I mean you feel it, too, right? When we saw each other in Lightman's office, you felt it too. That spark. The connection is still there."

"I don't know, Daniel."

"Oh, come on. One real date is all I ask. For old time's sake? I've really enjoyed myself with you tonight."

"I don't think that would be a good idea while we're working on Nicole's case."

"This has nothing to do with my sister, who I still don't really believe is my sister, by the way. This is just you and I. Just one date. What harm could it do?"

"I'll think about it, ok?"

"Sure, absolutely. That's all I ask of you tonight." 

* * *

><p><em>Haters to the left, please. Everyone else keep right for the next chapter.<em>


	9. Chapter 7

"How'd it go with the brother?" Cal asked by way of greeting.

"You're sitting in my chair." Gillian noted and chose to plop down on her couch instead. "And take your shoes off my desk."

He did as he was told. "Are you avoiding me?"

"Would you leave if I said yes?" Gillian threw out without paying any attention to him. Cal leaned forward on the desk, propping his head on his hand, while he studied her profile. Her face was perfect; she was a natural beauty. He wondered if she'd be offended if he told her she didn't need any make-up at all to look lovely.

Gillian realised she would not get rid of him until she threw him a bone, so she explained, "It was really nice catching up with Daniel. We took a leisurely stroll down memory lane."

She expected Cal to make a sarcastic comment, after all that's why she put it into such sappy terms anyway but she waited in vain for a comeback from him. She looked up and found him staring absent-mindedly at a spot on the wall. She frowned, trying to see if there was a speck. Maybe she'd splashed some of the cherry slushie yesterday and the cleaning staff missed it? She turned back and realised he hadn't moved a single inch.

"Cal? You alright?"

He shook out of his reverie and jumped out of her chair. "Peachy."

"No cinnamon rolls today?" Gillian looked up as he sat down opposite her.

"No, I figured Mr. Dot-com-millionaire would serve you breakfast in bed."

"Let it go, Cal."

"Oh, so _no_ sleepover last night, then. Has he put on too much weight since the last time you hugged his chicken breast?"

"Are you going to be like this all day?"

Cal shrugged, "I don't know. The day is young; I haven't really made up my mind yet."

"Well, if you have nothing constructive to contribute to my morning coffee, I'll go and prepare for Nicole's interview." Gillian rose from her chair. "You're welcome to leave, whenever suits you."

Cal stared after her, eyes fixed on her behind, thoroughly enjoying the view. He was trying to figure out what kind of panties she was wearing. Was she wearing any in the first place? Oh God! That dream would be the death of him. Did she like to wear matching sets of bras and panties? Did she wear white to work and black on dates? Did she have any unusual colours in her lingerie drawer? Oh, he'd love to find out.

"Cal?"

"Yes, love?"

"Something wrong with the carpet? You've been staring at the same spot for five minutes."

"Nah, nothin' love. Just thinking."

"About?"

He looked at her askance for a second and then saved himself, "You know I've been wondering what happened to Simone? I mean she was with you that same day, wasn't she? Did she see anything?"

Gillian shook her head, "No. She walked home with me. Anything she'd have seen, I would've, too. She was actually still with me when Nicole's mom called. They moved after a year or so. Her father had one of those jobs that required a lot of travelling. Haven't heard from her since. I'm sure Ben can help us find her if you want to talk to her."

"Might just do that."

0~0~0~0~0

Eli and Cal were sitting in the lab observing, while Gillian chatted with Nicole. Since the previous interrogation in the cube had not been conclusive despite their use of heat and skin sensors, Cal figured they might as well record the conversation in Gillian's office. That way Nicole might be less suspicious, if she were a con artist and less likely to clam up on Gillian.

"_How've you been, Gill?"_ _Nicole opened the conversation._

"_Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Gillian countered in her best psychologist fashion._

"_Don't go all shrink on me, Gill. I'm not a psycho!" Nicole got upset._

"Busted!" Loker grinned at Lightman. "She's smarter than we thought."

"Which is a good thing, cause if she thinks she's smarter than us then she'll get careless and make a mistake."

"_I'm sorry, Nicole. I don't think you're crazy at all. But I know you went through a traumatic experience, so if you want to talk about it, I'm here. We used to be best friends, you know."_

"_For a short time after… I guess we would call it the abduction now? ... I dreamt that your mom would find out what happened and take me and Daniel in."_

"_She would have." Gillian said confidently without the bat of an eyelash, "You were like a sister to me back then."_

"Did you see it?" Cal looked at Loker, ever the teacher.

"Yes. One-sided shoulder shrug when she referred to the abduction. But she was telling the truth when she said she dreamt about living with Foster's family." Loker noted.

"_How did you find out about me?"_ _Nicole asked. "I mean did you miss me at all?"_

"_Of course, I did, Nicky! Simone and I were playing in the backyard when your mom called because you never came home." Gillian looked down into her lap and kneaded her fingers. She looked up again contritely, "I am so sorry about what I said to you. If I could take it back…"_

"_It's okay, Gilly. I was a real bitch that day. It wasn't your fault. You were always so nice to me, to everyone." Nicole reached out and put her hands over Gillian's._

"_You don't hold a grudge against me?" Gillian asked hopefully._

"_Oh please!" Nicole pulled a face, "I deserved it. You were looking out for Simone. I was jealous because you spent so much time with her. You were my friend first and suddenly she was always there. I behaved like a brat. Sure being abducted sucked, but you did the right thing that day. It was __**not**__ your fault."_

"Whoa." Loker looked at Lightman expectantly. He zoomed in on Nicole's eyes when she talked about Simone.

"We need to find the other girl. She might know something. I'll put Reynolds on it." Cal pulled out his cell phone.

"_Everyone helped, you know. The entire community was out searching for you. We just never did… find you. Now I know why." Gillian explained._

"_I know, mom and dad told me."_

"_Daniel came over every day to talk about you. We became really good friends. We talked about you constantly because it made us feel as if you were still there."_

"_You let a boy into your room? What about the 'No Boys Allowed' sign on your door?" Nicole giggled. "I'm sure all the pink made him throw up."_

"_He was your brother. I made an exception." Gillian grinned and added, "He did reel a bit when he saw my room for the first time."_

_Nicole laughed. "All the frills and ruffles…"_

"_Okay, so he did do quite a double take."_

Loker and Lightman smiled at the screen but remained silent. Somehow this was exactly how they had pictured a seven-year-old Gillian's bedroom to be.

"_You know I never understood what that basketball poster was doing in your room. I mean hoops just didn't really fit into your girly image."_

_Gillian shrugged her shoulders, "It belonged to Greg actually. For some reason mom made us switch rooms, and he left it there. I just kept it."_

_Nicole nodded, "Like the basket over the door?"_

_Gillian grinned. "Remember when my dad walked through the door to check on us because we were laughing so hard and you hit him on the head with the ball, trying to land a shot? Luckily it was only a soft ball but he still confiscated it."_

_Nicole shook her head, "No, sorry." She looked at Gillian with big, sad eyes._

"_It's okay, don't worry. We can't remember everything from our childhood. I just thought because we were laughing so hard about it for days. Every time we saw a basketball we broke out into laughter. Dad was pissed."_

"_I remember the sleepover, though, when we snooped through Greg's bedroom and found the valentine's card from Natalie Wakefield in his drawer."_

"_Oh my God! I'd totally forgotten about that. She left little lipstick kisses all over the paper. What did it say?"_

"_I don't remember, let me think", her eyes glanced sideways, trying to recollect the memory._

"_Something like you're so cute I could shower your body with kisses all day." The girls giggled._

"_Did he ever go out with her?" Nicole asked curiously._

"_No." Gillian shook her head no and shuddered for good measure. "Thank God. I couldn't stand it if she were my sister in law."_

"_So he's married?"_

"_Mmhmm. He's got two kids. Boy and a girl." Gillian smiled wistfully. "You always had a crush on my brother. You and Simone would make eyes at him at dinner every time."_

"_Did not!"_

"_Did so."_

"_Did not. Greg could be so gross. Like the one time he came home from basketball training and stuffed two hot dogs into his mouth in one go. Yuck!" Nicole pulled a face, " And you should talk. You hooked up with Dan!"_

"_How do you know?"_

"_Mom and Dad have pictures of the two of you during high school all over the place."_

_Gillian nodded. This fit with what Daniel mentioned yesterday, "Are you…?"_

"_Please, no! He was cute and I'm glad he had a nice girl for the prom and not a bitch like Natalie Wakefield. You made a nice couple in the photos I've seen. Why did you break up?"_

"_He left for college."_

"_Excuse me", Nicole got up from her seat, "I need to go and knock some sense into my older brother."_

"_Sit down", Gillian laughed, "it was a mutual decision."_

_Nicole gave her a look._

"_Alright, so I hoped he would contract all kinds of STDs in college but there are no hard feelings between Daniel and I."_

"_Still makes him an idiot. Well, I suppose some good did come out of it, or otherwise you wouldn't have met your husband."_

"_I'm divorced. I kept the name for professional reasons."_

"_Oh."_

"_Do you have…someone?" Gillian enquired._

"_No. Never found someone I could trust like that." Nicole looked genuinely sad and hurt._

Lightman leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen, deep in thought. Eli looked at him expectantly as if he'd have an epiphany any moment.

"Loker?"

"Yep?"

"I can't put my finger on it but something is off."

"Well, from what I could see, she was speaking the truth."

"I know. The memories were real. Not a thing she made up and I'm sure Gillian will confirm that. And if she were a con artist she'd most likely have pretended to know about the basket ball incident."

"She's the real Nicole Livingston." Loker concluded.

Cal pulled back the corner of his mouth and nodded. "Looks like it."

"Do you think Simone will be able to shed some light on things?"

"I don't know. She was there with Gillian when Nicole disappeared. Perhaps she saw something. What's her statement in the police report say?"

"Torres has it, she's following up the abduction angle with Reynolds."

"Ok, I'll get in touch with them. Keep listening, see if you notice anything." Cal nodded towards the screen and left in search for Torres.


	10. Chapter 8

"How much do you remember about Simone Walker?" Cal asked her as they strolled along the sidewalk in the direction of the hot dog vendor in front of their building. Gillian turned her head and almost asked, _"Who?"_, when she realised who he was talking about.

"Like I said this morning. Not much. Simone's family moved into the house next to us over summer break the year before. She was very shy and because school hadn't started yet, she hung out with me every day."

"Was there anything wrong with her? Family problems?"

"No, why?"

They'd reached their target and put their conversation on hold. Cal ordered a kebab and then watched in amusement as Gillian composed her hot dog. He exchanged smiles with the vendor who was instructed to put mustard, but not too much, some ketchup, lots of sweet pickle relish, and a few onions on her hot dog and to top everything off with Sauerkraut.

"Oh, hang on, there's still a bit of meat peeking out, you should cover that as well." He teased her and pointed at the naked end of the sausage. "I've got it." Cal reached into his pocket to pull out a twenty-dollar bill. Gillian grabbed his kebab and walked over to an empty table. Cal pocketed the change and carried their Italian sodas to where Foster was waiting.

Gillian thanked him for the invite, as he put down the cups. He angled for the chair on the opposite side of the table with his foot and pulled it over, so he could sit next to Gillian.

"When you interviewed Nicole, she showed a strong reaction when she talked about Simone. As if she knew a secret about her. I thought maybe it had something to do with the abduction." He explained before he took a bite.

Gillian swallowed and sucked at her straw, before she replied, "You think Simone had something to do with Nicole's disappearance? That's impossible, she was with me the whole day."

"I know. But I think Nicole knows something about Simone that caused friction between them. Could explain why Nicole reacted so strongly that day when you rejected her for Simone."

"I only knew Simone for about two years. I told you her family moved a lot. She was a nice girl. Very polite to adults and authorities, never got into any kind of trouble. I think she spent too much time by herself; she had no close friends because she moved a lot."

Cal nodded. "So when are you gonna tell Daniel the good news?"

"That Nicole is his sister?" Gillian raised her eyebrows, and then glanced at her watch. "He'll be stopping by this afternoon."

"I think I'm going to lean on Nicole a bit and see if I can find out what she knows about Simone. I'll take Torres with me into the cube."

Gillian nodded. "Has Ben had any luck finding her?"

Cal shook his head. "No, it's like Simone Walker dropped off the face of the earth. He and Torres were able to find the mother who lives in Idaho now. But she wasn't much of a help. Simone ran away from home when she was fifteen. According to her mother she hitchhiked to California to become an actress."

"And like thousands young girls before her Hollywood ate her up and spat her out before she even stepped foot into the door of a casting agency." Gillian finished the story.

"The last time Mrs. Walker heard from her daughter was twenty years ago. Simone must have been in a pretty bad state, she asked to come home but her mother was broke. The house was about to be foreclosed. Her husband had left her shortly after Simone ran away and took all the money with him. She had nothing to offer her daughter."

Gillian shook her head sadly. "It's sad you know. So many lives ruined by one event. Nicole was a beautiful and smart girl, destined to go places. Look at her now. She has no one she can trust, she's got no family of her own, and she's estranged from her parents and brother. You never imagine your life ending up like this." Gillian explained and Cal immediately picked up on the fact that she was drawing parallels to her own life.

"I don't know, love, I think you're doing pretty well. I mean, you've got a successful firm, work with a British hunk… You coulda done a lot worse." His cocky grin made Gillian laugh out loud.

"Yeah, quite the catch you are", her voice dripped with sarcasm. "But Nicole and Simone weren't that lucky."

"That's 'cos they got no Cal Lightman to look after them." He waggled his eyebrows as he lifted his cup to finish off his soda.

Gillian furrowed her brows and snatched the cup out of his hand. Cal almost reeled from the electric jolt her touch caused when her fingers brushed against his. He was thankful he was wearing sunglasses, so Gillian couldn't see the arousal flash in his eyes. He swallowed quickly and tried to camouflage his reaction but thankfully Gillian was busy drawing a long gulp from his straw. Cal closed his eyes telling himself to not go there. Oi. Too late.

"Well, the soda tastes normal, so the extra dose of big ego must have come with your breakfast." She grinned at Cal who stared at her open-mouthed.

"Oi! I didn't have breakfast this morning because _someone_ ate my cinnamon roll!"

"That was yesterday, Cal." Gillian ribbed him playfully.

"Right, which means you still owe me one. Don't think I'll forget." He nudged her back, "Maybe I'll just take it out of your wages."

"Make sure you tell that to your payroll officer…oh wait… that would be me." She smiled brightly at him.

0~0~0~0~0

"Oi! Torres! You're with me!" Cal shouted as he breezed through the hallway of the Lightman group. Torres raised her eyebrows at Loker, who shrugged, indicating he had no idea whatsoever what Lightman was up to.

Ria caught up with Cal who filled her in on his suspicions that Nicole was hiding something about Simone Walker.

"Reynolds is checking the usual paper trails, credit cards, SSN, name changes. He found an old address from two years ago but is at a dead end now. It seems as if Simone Walker does not want to be found."

"Well that usually means someone is in trouble." Cal said as he pulled the door to the cube open.

"Why am I back here?" Nicole sounded agitated.

"Because this is where we take the liars." Cal retorted simply and gauged her reaction.

"I'm not a liar!" She replied indignantly.

"Yes, you are. You've been hiding something from us all along." Cal stated, taking notice of her hands playing nervously with each other.

"I've got no secrets." Nicole exclaimed.

"What do you know about Simone Walker?" Ria stepped forward.

"I barely knew her." Nicole countered.

Ria held up her hand in a can you believe her gesture and looked at Cal, "We've got a liar."

"I know. What is it about Simone Walker that you don't want us to know?" Cal bent down in front of her and studied her eyes.

"I don't know anything about Simone. She was Gill's friend!" The woman retorted exasperated. Cal glanced at Ria to see if she's caught it, too. When Nicole referred to Gillian, she seemed grateful instead of jealous.

"See, that's the part I don't believe. Did you spend much time together without Gill?"

"No. How many times do I have to tell you I do not know Simone Walker." She looked him straight in the eye and Cal suppressed a smirk. She continued, "The first time I saw her was the summer before school started, maybe a month or so before. We were coming back from a vacation in the Hamptons, Gillian couldn't come with us because she was sick, so when I returned I went straight over to her place only to find out she'd found a new best friend in my absence. From that point on Simone followed Gillian like a puppy for the rest of the school year."

0~0~0~0~0

Gillian tore her gaze away from the cube, when the door opened. Heidi led Daniel in.

"Sorry, I'm late." Daniel said.

"No you're not. You're tense because you know this is the big reveal." Loker piped up from his chair and turned off the sound. Both Gillian and Daniel sent him a death glare, so Eli scrambled to his feet mumbling something about coffee.

"Why's she back in the there?" Daniel nodded towards the cube, "I thought you'd finished the evaluation when you called me?"

"We did, well we do have an answer to your question." Gillian skipped a beat, "Cal is just following up on some reads he got when Nicole talked about Simone. He thinks Simone may have had something to do with her disappearance."

"Nicole, huh?" Daniel bit his lips, "So you think it really is her?"

Gillian nodded. "I know you'd rather have some form of scientific proof like a DNA profile…"

"I thought what you were doing here is science? That's why I came to the Lightman Group in the first place."

"It is. Everything we do here is legitimate and based in science. But it only works so far for a hundred percent certainty."

"So you're saying you have doubts?"

"I'm saying that to the best of my knowledge the woman in there is Nicole Livingston."

"I don't believe it." Daniel objected. "How can you be so sure?"

"She knows _stuff_, Dan. She knows things she could only know if she's Nicole. Little details from our childhood. Things I've never shared with anyone else but her. Stuff she couldn't read up on, find on the internet."

Daniel looked at her in disbelief still. "Why is it so hard for you to accept that your sister is back?" She put her hand on his arm comfortingly.

Daniel looked at her hand on his arm and then straight into her eyes, "I don't know, Gill. I just know in my heart she's not my sister."

0~0~0~0~0

"Whoa!" Ria cocked her eyebrows, "What was that?"

Nicole had been edgy and nervous all through the interview but just tensed up tremendously. Torres looked at Lightman whose interest had increased tenfold as well. They both turned around to see what had changed. That's when his look fell onto Daniel and Gillian outside the cube. He cursed himself for not frosting the windows, so Gillian could watch.

"You don't like Daniel, do you?" Torres latched onto the reaction she'd seen a moment ago.

"You're crazy. Daniel's my brother. I love him." Nicole dismissed, pulling a face.

"No you don't", Cal noted, "Which is ok because you barely know him." He cocked his head sideways and studied her face. "You're scared of him, you are." _How could he have missed that?_

"What did he do to you?" Torres demanded. It would explain the shoulder-shrug when Nicole referred to the abduction in a previous interview. Perhaps he made her leave.

"Nothin'!" Nicole spat. Cal frowned for a second then turned around to study the interaction between Daniel and Gillian. They had not noticed that they had the attention of the occupants of the cube because they were immersed in conversation. Cal noticed how Daniel kept leering at Gillian's breasts and half-wanted to step outside the cube to smack the tosser.

Torres found it amusing to study Lightman as he observed the couple in the lab. Oh there was so definitely something going on between Foster and Lightman. She couldn't wait to gossip with Eli later on.

When Gillian touched Daniel's arm Cal pouted and straightened himself up. They were getting awfully cosy out there. He was half-tempted to cut the interview short and break up their tête-à-tête. He'd better keep an eye on that wanker. Cal put his mask back into place and turned around with new vigour.

"What's the deal with your brother? What is he hiding?" Cal tried a different approach.

"How should I know? I haven't seen him in thirty years." She bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders. Torres and Cal exchanged smiles. They loved it when people did the classic combos.

0~0~0~0~0

"So have you thought about us?" Daniel enquired softly.

"This is not the right place to talk about this." Gillian glanced at the cube.

"Shall we talk about it over dinner? My place? I cook quite well for a bachelor." He put his free hand onto her shoulder.

Gillian narrowed her eyes in thought, "I really don't think that's such a good idea."

"Afraid I can't behave myself?" He teased her.

"No!" Gillian shook her head.

"Afraid you can't behave yourself?" He chuckled.

Gillian rolled her eyes, "I just need more time to think about it."

Daniel glanced at the cube, "Is this about Lightman?"

"No! This has nothing to do with Cal. We're just friends remember?"

"But there is someone else?"

"No", Gillian drew the word out, "I just came out of a relationship that ended not so well."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Who's the idiot? I'm gonna knock some sense into him."

Gillian laughed out loud. "Good luck finding him, the DEA gave him a new identity and relocated him." Right now Daniel reminded her of Nicole. "You know Nicole said the same thing about you, when I told her you dumped me for college."

"She did?" Daniel seemed surprised.

"Yeah, she even said it in the same tone." Gillian affirmed. Maybe that would help Daniel accept the truth.

"So rain check?"

Gillian nodded vaguely, "I'll call you later."

"Ok. I can wait." Daniel shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at her curiously, "It's been thirty years, what's a day or two more?"

"Come on, I'll see you out." She put her hand on his back and guided him to the door.


	11. Chapter 9

"Would you like to have dinner with me, love?" _So much for the wait and see approach._

Gillian looked up to find Cal slouching in her door way. She smiled brightly at him and nodded. When he hovered in her doorway, she spoke up, "Just give me a minute to sign off on Loker's report, then you have my undivided attention."

She didn't get it. He debated whether to leave things as they were or up the ante a little bit. Cal stepped forward and bounced on his feet. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he tried to act as nonchalantly as possible. Naturally this raised a red flag with Gillian because she knew him well enough to recognise this as a sign of nervousness. Something he showed rarely and only around her. She raised her eyebrows in question, waiting for him to open up.

"No, what I mean is," he paused and took a deep breath, "Would _you_ like to have dinner…" he pulled his hands out of his pockets and waved them about wildly between their bodies. "_with_ _me_?" He placed the emphases strategically.

"Yes, the answer is still the same as a minute ago, Cal." She frowned and looked at him worriedly. "Are you ok? You've been acting weird all morning."

This was going horribly. Maybe he should just take what he could get and try again over dinner to make his intentions clearer.

"Yes, yes. I don't think you get what I mean, though." Or maybe just do it now. Chin up, be a man! Next thing he knew the tosser would ask her out again and shag her for old time's sake.

She gave him a curious once over, daring him to enlighten her. He took a few strides forward until he was standing opposite her. His finger trailed the edge of her desk, stalling for time.

"Would you like…", He took a deep breath and looked up without his usual mask in place, "to have dinner with me?"

Gillian watched as he unknowingly rubbed circles on her desk, betraying his nervousness. She looked up and gasped at the openness on his face and the sincerity in his voice.

"You mean as in a _date_ … dinner?"

He nodded enthusiastically, thankful that she finally caught on and she was stunned.

Oh my God. He was seriously asking her out. What was she going to say? Words failed her. She had not seen this one coming. Why _hadn't_ she seen this one coming? Did he show any signs? She tried to remember... Did she miss them? What was she going to say? He was still standing there in front of her, looking actually a bit vulnerable, waiting for an answer. Well she had already said yes but she wasn't so sure that this was such a great idea anymore. Dinner with Cal? Well, a _date_ with Cal had disaster written all over it.

Cal looked at her expectantly and his face fell when he read the confusion and doubt on her.

"You know what. Never mind. Forget I ever asked." He turned on his heel and made a beeline for the door.

"No. Cal. Wait! Cal!" She shouted after him but he'd already disappeared around the corner. Gillian sat dumbfounded at her desk staring at the open door. Why had he done this? What the devil had gotten into him, swaggering into her office asking her out as if it was the most normal thing in the world? Didn't he realise what this would do to them? It would mess up the entire equilibrium of their relationship. Why now? If he wanted her then why the hell didn't he say so right after her divorce? Perhaps he didn't _really_ want her.

Could this day get any worse? First Dan and now Cal… Oh! Daniel, that's why. He didn't like Daniel. No, he _really_ didn't like him. Damn you, Lightman. Every time she had a new man in her life he turned into a ten-year-old boy who didn't like to share his toys. Did he actually consider her his toy? Oh God, she sounded ridiculous. Of course, he didn't. He cared for her - truly and deeply. That much she knew.

But why did he behave that way then? What did he want from her anyway? He couldn't seriously consider dating her? So did he ask her out to piss off Daniel? Did he hate Daniel so much? After all she wasn't Cal's type at all. She was no Zoë or Poppy or Clara. She was just plain, old Gill. For him it was probably just a game to try and see if he could get her into his bed and then he'd lose interest quickly. She wasn't dangerous, nor was she a vixen in bed. Did he really think she'd go for something like a one-night-stand or friends with benefits?


	12. Chapter 10

_Thanks for the reviews._

* * *

><p>Gillian was sitting in the break room thumbing through a photo album she had brought to work and looked at with Nicole earlier. She looked at the pictures from her childhood while she sipped her latte. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Cal strutting down the hall. She hadn't seen him alone since he dropped that bombshell on her this afternoon. He'd been avoiding her and she'd wondered whether he was going to leave for the night without saying good-bye to her.<p>

Cal debated whether or not to stop by Gillian's office to say goodnight. He'd been avoiding her for most of the afternoon, and the two times they met in the hallway with Loker or Torres he'd acted as if nothing had happened. If he left without saying good-bye she'd know his easy-going act all afternoon was just that. An act. If he bid her goodnight, he'd have to face her and she undoubtedly would insist that they talk. Neither option seemed particularly alluring to him, so he was kind of glad that the lights in her office were out when he passed by.

He turned around the corner and cursed the cruel fates because there she was sitting on display for him in the break room. He considered running down the hall, lest she looked up and spotted him. There. Too late.

Gillian could feel Cal's eyes on her, so she raised her head. She debated whether she should talk to him. On the one hand he seemed to be doing fine, which was an act. Of course, she knew. But it would be so much easier to pretend that nothing had happened. Gillian knew that they had to talk sooner rather than later before this – whatever this thing was – came between them.

"Were you going to leave without saying good-bye?" She called out to him outside the room. Cal took a few reluctant strides until he stood in the door.

"Nah!" He made a dismissive gesture and face.

"Ok." Gillian's tone indicated she wasn't buying it.

"What you looking at?" He nodded towards the photo album in her hands.

"Nothing. Just old pictures from my childhood of me and Nicole and Simone."

"And Dan?" He added and earned himself a reprimanding look.

"Drop it, Cal." She sighed and looked at him worried. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Don't play stupid, Cal, it doesn't suit you."

"Oh you mean about earlier? I was just… the office has a pot about us since your divorce…how long it's going to take for us to go out on a date. Fernando put down today and I figured he could use the money for his grad studies. Housing in D.C is so expensive."

Gillian was about to call him on his lie when she realised he was telling a half truth. "There is a pot. About us?"

Cal shrugged his shoulder, "Do you regret telling me to revoke Loker's intern status now? 'Cos he's the one who started it. He and Heidi actually did."

"How long have you known?"

"About eight months."

"And you never mentioned it?"

Cal shrugged his shoulders, "Why, would you have liked to put down some money?"

Gillian huffed and shut the album with a loud thud. "You're incorrigible." She pushed out her chair and walked over to the window. He could be so frustrating sometimes. She was trying to have a serious conversation with him, and all he had to contribute were lame jokes.

Cal walked over to the table and pulled the album closer. He opened it and leafed through a few pages. She looked adorable when she was a child. He bet she'd been the cutest kid around the block with her ponytails and freckles and ruffled shirts. He'd always been glad that Emily was a bit more of a tomboy because truthfully he would have had no idea what to do with a seven-year-old hosting tea parties with her Barbies. But Foster was a different thing. He'd always suspected that she was a girly girl despite her penchant for sports from her brother. He'd have to admit if he had a girl that was the spitting image of Gillian, he'd encourage Foster to dress her in ruffled skirts and dresses himself.

Gillian had turned around and was watching him as he perused the various pictures of her with a genuine smile on his face. She suddenly felt self-conscious even though there were no embarrassing pictures of her in there. She walked back briskly and reached out to shut the album under his nose.

"Eh, eh, eh." He grinned at her, putting his hand between the pages. "You were rather adorable."

Gillian blushed.

"Which one is Simone and which one is Nicole?" He pointed to a page that showed different images of three little girls sticking their heads together in conspiracy.

Gillian pointed them out. "Why?"

"I've just thought that you haven't changed that much in looks since you were a young girl. Yes, you've become a woman but I had no problem picking you out, even if it had not been your album."

"Cal. You're a genius. Why haven't we thought about this before?"

He looked at her flabbergasted. It didn't happen often that Gillian had one over on him.

"Facial recognition software. There are certain parameters on our faces that don't change a lot as we grow older. We'll compare a picture of Nicole now and then, run it through facial aging software to prove it's really her. Then Daniel will have to believe it's really her."

"I knew there was a reason I hired you all those years ago!" Cal exclaimed excitedly and searched for appropriate pictures. "I'll have Reynolds look into it first thing in the morning. We can also use it to project what Simone would look like today, which could help us in locating her. And once we find her she can shed some light on what exactly happened that day."

"Still chasing ghosts?"

"Nicole is hiding something. I'm betting my last shirt it has to do with Simone Walker and Daniel Livingston."

"We've been over this, Cal. Simone was with me and Daniel couldn't hurt a fly."

"But he's hidin' something and I'm gonna find out what it is!"

"Why do you hate Daniel so much?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't even know the man. For all I know he could have killed his sister."

Gillian gaped at him, "You're right you know nothing about Daniel. I do. I was with him after Nicole disappeared. He came over every day to talk about her because it felt as if she was still with us then. He was distraught. We cried in each other's arms, we comforted each other over our loss. He loved his sister."

"All I'm sayin' is he knows more than he lets on."

"You know what, maybe I should leave." She slammed the album closed.

"So you can call Daniel and talk about Nicole?" He spat.

"Is this really what it's going to be like with every man in my life?"

"Only the ones you've slept with."

"That's none of your damn business." She raised her voice.

"Yes it is!" Cal hissed back, "It bloody well _is_ my business when you're sleeping with a suspect."

"Oh, like you've never done it."

"Don't you dare be bringing up Poppy again."

"Why not? Cause it is the truth? Does it bother you?"

"Poppy meant nothing. There were no feelings involved. She was just a good roll in the hay."

"I'm not even sleeping with Daniel."

"But you want to! You still have feelings for him."

"Are you jealous?" Gillian's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hell no!" Cal pulled a face and almost managed to convince her.

"Oh my God, you are!" Realisation hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I'm not. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Is this really what it's going to be like between us from now on?"

"I don't know, you tell me. You started it!"

"I beg your pardon? I never once led you on. _You_ asked _me_ out!"

"But you kissed me!"

Gillian frowned for a split second, unable to follow his train of thoughts right away, before she caught on to his meaning. "You kissed me first!"

"You tilted your head in invitation!"

"You had your arm around me."

"You were stroking my thigh!"

"I was not."

"Your hand so was in all kinds of inappropriate places!" Cal declared indignantly.

"It was an act, Cal! Remember? We were trying to pass off as a married couple!"

"So that stupid hand on my thigh thing was really just an act?" Cal stepped forward into Gillian's personal space and searched her eyes for the truth.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Cal's heart sank. She really had no clue.

"At the porn guy's office. You put your hand on my thigh." Surprise registered on Gillian's face but she quickly schooled her features into a neutral expression.

"And you had your arm around my shoulder." Gillian really couldn't recall putting her hand where he claimed. She took a step backwards to put more distance between them.

"Yeah, could've put your hand anywhere you liked but you chose to caress my thigh." Cal forged forward slowly cornering Gillian.

"It was an act, Cal." They were running around in circles with this argument.

"Really? Cause that look that you gave me, right after you kissed me back, I could've sworn you actually liked it." He stepped into her personal space and gauged her face carefully.

Gillian opened her mouth but Cal silenced her, "And don't you dare say it was acting because you had your face turned away from the porn guy. That look was just for me. Just. For me."

Gillian wrung her hands together and struggled for the right words. She was confused. She didn't expect such an emotional outburst from Cal.

"You know what? I should go." Cal pointed with his thumb into the direction of the door. "It was a really stupid idea to stop by in the first place."

"No, Cal. We need to talk about this. We can't let this stand between us."

"What's there to talk about really? I misread you. Can happen. I'm not infallible. Big deal! Have fun with Dan tonight." He spat then walked out on her.


	13. Chapter 11

_Thank you again for the reviews and I feel like I need to give a fair warning to those to whom such things are important: This part's not been beta'ed._

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><p>Gillian fell back stumped into the chair. What the hell had just happened here? What the <em>hell<em> was the matter with him? He had no right, no right at all, to act like this in front of her. How dare he make her the bad guy in this argument? She had done nothing wrong. Or did she?

There was a time when she might have welcomed Cal's advances because she knew that she was attracted to him on a purely sexual level. She just never thought there'd come a day when they would, could, should act on it? But so much had happened since her divorce, too much to just take him up on his offer and ignore the voices screaming inside her head what a bad idea this was.

They had been flirting most of their friendship but all in good humour. They had both been married and devoted to their spouses, it had never crossed their mind to actually act on it. But then Zoë left Cal, and suddenly he'd become available. She loved Alec and would have never cheated on him, but she had connected to Cal on another emotional level. She knew it sounded corny but he was her soul mate. During Cal's divorce they fought a lot, partially because he was venting his anger on her, partially because she couldn't stand by and watch idly as he self-destructed. So they came to the conclusion that if their business was to succeed they had to lay down a few ground rules. Pretty soon, Gillian realised that without Zoë in his life Cal was projecting all his attention on her, so she came up with the line in an attempt to keep their work life simple and their private lives separate and less complicated. She never thought she would get a divorce from Alec and the mutual attraction between her and Cal would come out in the open until it became a vital issue.

Of course, she had noticed the slight change in Cal's behaviour like the new haircut, casual clothes or the way he checked her out from behind when he thought she wouldn't notice. But she always knew. She could always feel his eyes on her – it was like a blessing and a curse. She enjoyed his attention and for a short while she secretly hoped he would act on it but then he realised she was not his type after all. He went after Poppy and Clara, and she was sure somewhere in between he and Zoë had experienced a short revival. Why would he have done this if he was seriously interested in her? No, whatever his minor outburst just now was about it wasn't really about them engaging in a relationship. Couldn't have been. It must have been fuelled by misdirected jealousy. She was sure Cal's envy of Daniel was behind it. She still didn't understand what beef Cal had with Dan but it must have triggered his exaggerated reaction. And if she thought about it Cal reacted in a similar way with Dave. For heaven's sake he stalked them to the restaurant! She wondered whether he was just trying to protect her from another relationship fiasco like with Dave or whether he really was one of those men who turned into little boys who didn't like to share their toys when the women in their life met other men. He did have a history for messing with Zoë's boyfriends post-marriage after all. _Damn you Cal for making me so frustrated!_

Cal Lightman was no knight in shining armour and she wasn't a damsel in distress – if at all, in the past year, she'd come to his rescue more times than vice versa. Cal had a way of getting into trouble that was inexplicable. He was like a magnet. And like an idiot, she stood by and let him play his charades, taking him back every single darn time. No, Cal Lightman was no prince charming. He was a rogue who disregarded her feelings and opinions too many times to qualify as good boyfriend material.

She tried to reason with him so many times, tried to look out for him but all she ever got in response was a "stop smothering me" or a "go and mother someone else". Why didn't he see that she was trying to be there for him, to help him and keep him from committing his mistakes? He could be so frustrating in this regard.

Why couldn't she find a nice and decent man who cared for her and respected her? Someone who _valued_ her opinion and _listened_ to what she had to say. Someone who preferable wasn't a secret agent with a double life, she mused. Definitely someone who wasn't involved with drugs at all. Period.

0~0~0~0~0

"Gillian!" Daniel opened the door in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

She was asking herself the same question as she stood outside waiting. What _was_ she doing here? She had no effin' clue. Should she even be here? Her run in with Cal had left her confused and unsettled. She cursed him for the hundredth time that day. Right now she hated her best friend because he had no right to dump his accusations in her lap, sow doubts about Daniel in her mind, and then turn the tables on her and make her the bad guy.

"I believe you extended a dinner invitation this afternoon?"

Daniel looked mortified as he gaped and then stuttered, "No, I mean yes, I mean no, I mean I didn't think you'd show up _tonight_ after our talk in the lab."

"Do you have someone in there?" Gillian asked with wide eyes.

"NO! Oh God, no, Gillian, I'm not a player. I just…I didn't cook, ok. I ordered in."

"Oh so the pizza guy I ran into delivered to your place?" She grinned.

Daniel nodded sheepishly, "So much for winning your love through your stomach."

Gillian waved her hand dismissively, "Don't worry. 's okay. Remember I'm a cheap date. I have fond memories of our pizza and coke dates."

Daniel looked even more mortified now, "I ordered one with chicken."

"Oh. You always liked gross stuff on your pizza." She teased him.

"I also didn't order tiramisu for desert. But I could pick the chicken off of two slices for you!" Daniel hastened to add. "What do you say?" He stepped aside and made space for her to come in.

She took a tentative step across the threshold and looked around Daniel's home. It was a townhouse but it didn't feel very much like a home. The walls were lined with insignificant art pictures, nothing like Cal's home with his little mementos from his research trips. She'd always found that amusing because it didn't seem to be in Cal's nature to dwell on the past and cling to souvenirs. She suspected that Emily had a little hand in helping decorate the house he lived in but ultimately it was Cal's home, so he decided what went where. Compared to his home, Daniel's place was a typical bachelor's pad. Enough of Cal already, she was here trying to forget about him.

Daniel walked past her into the kitchen and called over his shoulder, "Beer or wine?"

Gillian hesitated for a second; she knew where he was going. Beer was for casual get together among friends. Wine was for dates. She appreciated him asking instead of assuming but she didn't like for him to drop the ball into her court. But why should she not? Daniel was a nice man. He ran a successful company and was heir apparent to a multi million family empire. He certainly had no habit of squandering off money or wandering off to get himself killed just because it was a sunny day and he felt like it.

"Wine."

Daniel stuck his head out and beamed at her, "Pinot Noir ok?"

Gillian nodded and a second later Daniel walked out with a bottle and two glasses. He looked from the dining room to the den and then explained sheepishly, "I was going to eat in front of the TV but eating out of the box seems kind of…inappropriately…low for the occasion?"

Gillian laughed, "Nah, keep the china in the cupboard. I'm low maintenance."

"Ok", Dan nodded with his head to follow her into the living room. He placed the bottle and glasses next to the pizza carton. He turned around and found himself staring directly into Gillian's face. He wasn't prepared for her being so close in his personal space, so he swallowed nervously. "Let me get some napkins."

He stepped around her and made a beeline for the kitchen, "And for the records, if this were the date I'd planned for you, we'd be using the china and silver."

Gillian chuckled, "You don't own fine china and silverware, Daniel Livingston. I know you!"

He came back looking offended, "I'll have you know that IKEA has some really cool and modern porcelain!" He looked at her pointedly and added, "Do you need a written invitation to sit down or are you still planning to bolt?"

Gillian grinned and plopped down on his couch and noticed Daniel sat down awfully close to her. "This is not a date." She suddenly felt the need to clarify.

"Of course not. I'm not cooking." He replied with good humour as he poured wine into their glasses. He held one out for her, "Just two friends catching up."

"For old time's sake", she agreed and they clinked their glasses. Jesus, whom was she fooling? They'd fallen right back into their old respective roles of teasing each other.

"I've got good news," Gillian began, "I think I've found a way to prove that Nicole is Nicole."

"You do?" Daniel stared at her incredulously.

"Yeah, Cal and I were looking at old pictures of Nicole, Simone and me. I figure if we use old pictures of Nicole and run them through aging software, we can project what she looks like today and compare it to Nicole. Make sense?" Gillian looked at Daniel expectantly, who was plucking pieces of chicken with a fork from the slices which didn't have a lot of meat on them in the first place.

"You don't seem interested." Gillian frowned.

"What? No, I am. I just think you're traipsing in the dark." Dan didn't look up from his task.

"Why is it so hard for you to accept the truth? Why can't you just be happy that Nicole is back? When Cal and I talked to your parents this afternoon they were thrilled. Sure it's complicated and awkward to be reunited after so many years but they are _glad_ they have their child back. What happened between you and Nicole? What is it you're not telling me?"

"Nothing. I can't explain it." Daniel looked up and this time his shoulder shrug didn't escape Gillian, "I just have this feeling. I _know_ it's not her."

"Did you kill Nicole?"

"WHAT?" Daniel yelled and dropped everything. "What kind of question is that?" He jumped up agitated.

Gillian rose and crossed her arms, "That's a deflection, Dan, and earlier when you said you didn't know you gave a little shoulder shrug."

"Did Lightman put you up to this? Is that it? He's just jealous of our connection, don't you see?" He towered over her indignantly.

"You still haven't answered my question!"

"I can't believe you even need an answer from me to that!" He shook his head in disappointment, then he placed his hand on Gillian's shoulders. He looked straight into her eyes, "Look at me and watch me carefully because I'm only going to answer this one time! I did _not_ kill my sister. I loved Nicole. I miss her every day. I wish she was still with us but I am not going to believe some random girl who shows up out of the blue and claims she is my long lost sister. That doesn't mean I killed Nicole. _OK_?"

"Ok." Gillian whispered, slightly taken aback by his emotional outburst. What was it with men and her today? But she _did_ believe him. Even though he was looking straight into her eyes, he was telling the truth. "I believe you."

"You do?" He sounded hopeful but surprised.

"I do. But I'd still like to know what you are hiding? What happened between you and Nicole that you can't accept her back into your life? Is it because of the fight you two had the weekend before? She's forgiven you, Dan. If she's forgiven me that I let her walk home alone and made the kidnapping possible in the first place, she can forgive you for kicking her out of your room. I know how you feel, know how you've felt since the day she disappeared. To this day I regret that I didn't go home with her."

Daniel's face turned white as chalk, "Don't say that. Be glad you didn't walk home with Nicole. God only knows what would've happened to you! Losing Nicole was bad enough, but losing you, too? I wouldn't know what to do! So don't ever say again that you wish you'd gone with her. Ever again. Ok?" His hands wandered from her shoulder up until they cupped her cheeks. The strange look in Daniel's eyes made her uncomfortable, it was as if he wasn't even looking at her anymore.

"Ok. Dan? You're scaring me." Her words seemed to shake him out of his reverie and he let her go. "Are you ok?"

"Yes," he ran his fingers nervously through his hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No. I'm worried what's going on Daniel. Talk to me. What is it that you've been hiding? Cal isn't stupid, he _knows_ you're not telling the whole truth, either."

"Did he send you here? Did he? Did he think if you put your moves on me I'd sing like a canary?"

"No! Of course not. Cal's got nothing to do with this. Don't be ridiculous. I am here on my own free will. I came by because I wanted to talk, that's all. I could use a friend tonight, and frankly based on what I've seen I think you could use one, too." Liar, liar, she thought and resisted the urge to check whether her pants were on fire. Of course it was Cal who'd planted the seed of doubt into her in the first place. But Dan didn't need to know that.

"How can you even think that of me, Gillian? How can you even think that I was capable of doing such a thing? You _know_ me. We were together for five years for crying out loud!"

"_Were_, Dan. _Past tense_ being the key word here. I don't know you anymore, Daniel. We went off to college and became two different people. We can't just pick up where we left."

"You know what? You're right. You don't know me at all. You never really knew me. If you can even think for a minute now that I could've killed my sister, you obviously never knew me at all. I think you should leave." He stepped back.

"Dan! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply…"

"Oh you didn't? Well, I'm sorry if I jumped to conclusions when you accused me of murder!"

"I said I believe you!" She hissed.

"But you still had to ask!"

"It's just you're so convinced that Nicole isn't Nicole. I'm just trying to understand. I'm sorry I asked you that but for a moment the only logical conclusion seemed to be that the only way for you to know that Nicole is not Nicole is for you to have murdered her. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." Gillian apologised.

"Well, I didn't. And thanks for your vote of confidence by the way." Daniel sounded really hurt and upset. He reminded her of innocent men she'd interviewed in the past when they were accused of rape. She studied his face and body posture carefully and for a minute it seemed as if he was going to open up and say more but as soon as it came the moment was gone.

"I'm sorry Gillian. I should have never dragged you into this. My assistant did all the research on the Lightman Group for me, when I was looking for someone to validate my suspicions. I had no idea you were Dr. Foster, the partner. I should have found someone else for the job as soon as we ran into each other in Lightman's office."

"Don't be ridiculous, Dan. Cal is the best in his field. But the Lightman Group subscribes to only one principle and that one is truth. Sometimes you may not like it but we don't bend the science to get the results we want."

"I get that and I respect and admire that. I just can't shake this feeling that Nicole is not real. I hate to see my parents being taken advantage of by someone who is only after their money."

"Are you scared for your inheritance?" Gillian's ears suddenly perked up. Maybe they should check his financial records.

Daniel laughed out loud, "I could retire today and live off my investments, Gill, in spite of the economy. In fact, I could support a wife and two children all the way through college without having to tighten my belt a single notch."

"Then why are you so against Nicole? What are you going to do when the facial aging and recognition software reveals she's been telling the truth?"

"The jury's still out on that one", Dan reminded her, "and I don't want my mother to get hurt. You know what she was like after Nicole disappeared. I think she didn't stop crying for the entire year. Some days I catch myself thinking that even if she isn't Nicole, maybe it's better not to tell mom because I don't know if she could stand losing Nicole all over again. All those years she's never resigned herself to Nicole's death, she's always kept hoping that one day she'll be back. She's already invested in the new Nicole, I'm actually contemplating to keep it a secret from her when the aging software proves I'm right."

"If…" Gillian reminded him.

"Semantics." Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Do you think we would have gotten together if it hadn't been for Nicky's disappearance?"

Gillian looked up and finally began to understand why he felt so guilty. "No, Daniel, don't start thinking like that. Don't feel guilty for this horrible event bringing us closer together. We can't live our lives based on what ifs. What if my dad had never been an alcoholic, what if my husband had never been an addict, what if my best childhood friend had never been abducted…see where I'm going with this? Too many darn options! It's not healthy."

"I just can't help but feel a bit ashamed that something so wonderful came out of something so tragic." He admitted. "But that's life for you, I guess."

Gillian grabbed his hand and squeezed it softly, "I don't have any regrets, Daniel. What's past is past. Everything happened for a reason."

"So do you think Nicole's return happened for a reason? So we would meet again?" Daniel looked at her hopefully.

"Perhaps, I don't know."

"I lied to you." Daniel looked deeply into her eyes, as he confessed. Gillian took an offended step backwards but Daniel quickly reached out behind her back to keep her in place. "Last night I said that I never got married because I never found the right one. Well, seeing you again, after so many years, I _know_ I never got married because I'd actually found the right one but was stupid enough to let her go."

Gillian's eyes grew wide and she gaped with a lack for words.

"I know that we can't pick up where we left off, but Gillian seeing you again, all the old feelings are coming back. I would be an idiot if I didn't ask you to give us another chance. If things don't work out between us, then that'll be fine, well not really, but we'll deal with it. You know what I mean? But to not even try, Gillian, that would be a shame."

"I don't know, Dan. That's an awful lot of responsibility and expectation you drop into my lap."

"No, no. Don't _think_, just _feel_ Gillian. And I know you can feel it too. That's why you're here tonight, because you need to know if what we have is still real. Look me in the eye and tell me that you honestly don't feel something." He took a step closer into her personal space.

"You know I can't." Gillian's head leaned forward in response.

"Then let's give this a chance. At least we can say we tried…" Daniel trailed off as he brought his face closer to hers.


	14. Chapter 12

_As you can probably guess the plot thickens and the end is near. There are at most 3 chapters left. Fair warning!_

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><p>"Have we thought of the possibility that Simone Walker is deceased and that's why we can't track her down?" Eli looked at Ria and Ben.<p>

"It is a distinct possibility, considering the circles she moved around before we lost trace of her. I'm actually waiting to hear from colleagues in central California, who had two Jane Does in the last five years who could have been Simone Walker. She got into drugs and prostitution; however, I won't rest till I have a death certificate." Reynolds explained. "I hate searching for needles in haystacks. If only we knew what she looked like but the most recent picture we have of her is over almost twenty years old."

"I may be able to help with that!" Cal said as a way of greeting as he barged into the lab.

The other three occupants looked up at him curiously and expectantly.

"Foster, really, came up with this brilliant idea to run Nicole's face from a childhood photo through facial aging and recognition software." Cal waved the picture in his hand. "So I pinched one of Simone as well but I think if you used the one you got from her mother when she was a teenager would be better."

Ria, Ben and Eli sent each other knowing glances and Cal rolled his eyes, "I know, I know, why didn't we come up with that sooner. Well, you know, there was a reason I hired her in the first place…and it wasn't for her good looks."

"I'll get right onto that", Ben declared and snatched Nicole's picture out of Cal's hand, "I have a buddy who still owes me a favour. I should have an answer by noon."

"Oi, Torres, you're still with him. Call me the minute you know anything, regardless whether it's about Nicole or Simone. In the meantime, Loker and I will have a little fun with Daniel."

Ria nodded and followed the FBI agent hot on his heels. Loker turned around and raised his eyebrows in question at his boss.

"How far along are you with digging up dirt on Daniel Livingston?" Cal turned to his male protégé.

Loker suppressed a grin. Lightman could be kind of cute when he got all concerned about Foster – well as cute as a barracuda about to have lunch could be. Eli rummaged through piles of paperwork on his desk until he found a large manila envelope. "This just came in this morning. I must say you have very helpful friends."

Cal pulled a face, "Well, don't go playing in the sandbox with them, Loker, they're the kind that make you eat sand pies and tell you the ants in it are chocolate sprinkles."

Loker's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Anyway, I think you should take a look at these." Eli pulled out a stack of papers. He held them out over his shoulder for Lightman to take. "I'm not sure what we can do with them, though, seeing as they're protected by doctor-patient confidentiality…"

"Let that be my problem…" Cal cut him off.

"But they're our only evidence that Daniel knows more about his sister's disappearance than he lets on!"

"I know."

"I'm just saying your _friends_ can't have possibly obtained those files legally and if it comes to a trial…"

"Loker, do my a favour and shut up."

"Do you think Daniel killed his sister? I mean the way he talks about her and what the documents show…but whom have we been interrogating then?"

"You really enjoy hearing yourself talk, don't you?" Cal looked up from the files annoyed.

Loker wanted to say something again but upon Lightman's sharp glare he quickly closed his mouth again. Instead he watched his boss as he perused the documents. If Foster found out how they'd acquired Daniel's medical records she'd throw a fit. But the truth was Dr. Foster was much more qualified to evaluate the records they'd "borrowed" from Daniel's childhood shrink than Lightman.

"Should we?"

"No!" Cal declared in a tone of voice that Loker knew meant he'd be fired if he crossed him on this issue.

"But she…"

"Don't you have something productive to do, Loker? Get me that wanker back into the cube, will you?" Cal seethed angrily, way past the point where he was willing to put up with Loker.

"Yessir." He shot up from his chair and got working.

0~0~0~0~0

Once Cal was left alone in the lab he let himself fall into the swivel chair and spun himself around in it, lost in thought. He didn't want to go back to his office. That would mean he'd have to pass by Gillian's office and he wasn't ready for that yet. He didn't have to exchange words with Gillian this morning to know what had happened. He could read it on her face when she was walking down the hall from where he stood at Heidi's desk. He couldn't bear to look at her, so he turned his head to Heidi, pretended to be in deep conversation with her and waited for Gillian to pass them by. She didn't even say good morning. She made a beeline for her office and hadn't come out again so far. Apparently they were both avoiding each other today. He knew he was being childish on some level and certainly displayed all the characteristics of a sore loser, but he'd be damned if he'd let Gillian stumble into an affair with her old sweetheart who had bodies in his closet. He told himself his increased focus on Daniel was to protect Gillian but deep down he knew he wanted to vet Daniel until he found something he could use to drive him out of Gillian's life. He wasn't proud of his actions but if he couldn't have her, then nobody should. Nobody was good enough for his Foster. He reached for the phone, as he opened a blue file, and dialled the number listed there.

0~0~0~0~0

"Why am I back here?" Daniel Livingston asked recalcitrant, when Cal entered the cube.

"So many reasons, so little time." Cal shot back and slouched into the chair opposite the suspect.

Daniel rolled his eyes, "I'm not paying you to hassle me."

Cal shook his head, "Nope, but your parents are paying me to find out the truth about your sister."

"You know what. I've had it with you. I want Gillian."

"_**Doctor**__ Foster_ isn't available. She is pursuing a different lead today." Cal shot back, holding back his jealousy and contempt for the other man. Daniel sneered.

"Ahh, that's how the wind blows." Daniel grinned knowingly.

"Let's focus back on the issue at hand here. What happened between you and your sister?" Cal asked bluntly.

Daniel ignored him and forged on, "She doesn't know I'm here, does she? Is this the part where you pull me aside to tell me that Gillian's like your little sister and you'll break my legs if I hurt her?"

Cal's body straightened and he lunged across the table in two seconds, getting into Daniel's face, "No, but now that you've mentioned it, consider yourself warned that your legs will be the least of your worries if you do as much as make Gillian cry."

Daniel grinned smugly, "Unrequited love….That's too bad…. And so sad."

Cal gave him a blank stare, unwilling to take the younger man's bait.

"Gillian doesn't love you, she told me. She told me straight to my face two times, there was nothing between you. Your jealousy does not give you the right to harass me or accuse me of harming my sister. It will get you nowhere with Gill. And if you knew her the way I do, you would know that. You don't like me, so you harass me. Well, you, sir, will hear from my lawyer!"

Cal leaned back casually into his chair, "For someone who's up to his neck in this crap you're awfully cheery." Cal replied calmly, "Go ahead and call your lawyer…but you better explain these to him." Cal opened the manila folder he'd brought with him and let its contents slide out.

Daniel's had shot up in shock, "Where did you get those?"

"So you recognise your early masterworks?" Cal gave a lopsided grin.

"You can't have obtained those legally. These are protected by doctor-patient confidentiality."

"Not your problem."

"They'll be useless in court."

"Let that be _my_ problem. That's interesting, though... that you've immediately thought about their admissibility in court. Why would you expect there to be a hearing?"

Cal watched as Daniel's whole demeanour changed. Gone was the air of superiority, the sense of male pride and victory over a defeated competitor in the race of a woman's heart. Daniel Livingston looked worried and guilty… and just a little bit scared.

"You have no right to those." He looked up defiantly after a minute of collecting himself. "I don't want to talk to you anymore. I'll only talk with Gillian from hereon." Daniel made a move to stand up but Cal beat him to it. He'd jumped up from his chair and positioned himself behind the other man.

"Sit down", he barked and pushed Daniel back into his chair. "You don't have to talk. In fact, I'll do the talking and you'll have to listen to me."

"I want my lawyer!"

Cal grinned, "We're not the police. You're free to go."

"But you just told me…?" Daniel looked up confused. Cal had him exactly where he wanted him.

"Nah, I was just messing with you. Of course, I can't hold you against your will."

Daniel made an attempt to rise.

"But Agent Reynolds can. Would you rather listen to me or talk with the FBI. I'm sure they'd be very interested in your early masterworks."

"They mean nothing", Daniel seethed, "They're just colourings."

Cal shook his head, "Uh, uh, uh…don't underestimate yourself. Quite the imagination you've had as a child."

"So what. Lots of children do."

"Yeah, yeah, my daughter Emily, she's a wizard with the easel! But you… you! I mean, this one, for example, where'd you get the idea to draw your sister in flames?"

Daniel just stared ahead unwilling to comment. Cal reached over the other man's head and pulled another one closer that showed a little girl drowning right underneath his suspect's nose. "How long have you been fantasising about killing your sister?"

Daniel frowned, "I didn't?" His head turned around and he looked at Cal curiously, "Is that what you think? You think I was planning on killing my sister and putting my fantasies on paper? You're crazy."

"That's the truth", Cal wiggled his eyebrows and stepped around the desk, "I know what these are, we've got the medical records that go along with it. I just wanted to see your reaction when I accused you."

"You're an asshole." Daniel stared at him disgusted. He had no idea how Gillian could put up with that jerk day after day.

"Oh the make up sex is great." Cal joked and Daniel looked at him startled, realising Lightman had been able to guess his thoughts.

Cal leaned over the table, "I find the details in some of these drawings remarkable." Cal watched Daniel's face as his finger hovered randomly over the pictures. What looked like Cal trying to make a random choice, was actually an attempt to gauge Daniel's reaction about them individually. Besides the one of Nicole drowning and bursting into flames, there was one of Nicole bleeding out from a car accident, and three of Nicole in the woods. One showed her hanging from a tree, another one had her eaten by a mountain lion and a third one showed her buried.

"This one for example, the details on the tree, the shape of the leaves, the contour of the branches…there might have been a little artist lost on you." Cal registered quietly Daniel's change in demeanour. He recognised the drawing but there was something more to it. He silently cursed that he couldn't get Gillian's advice on the pictures. She was the psychologist. But if she found out he had hired a shady investigator to dig up dirt on Daniel, she'd blow a fuse. Never mind the part that he had illegally obtained his medical records and they could be facing a lawsuit. He couldn't even go to her under false pretence and ask her for her opinion on the drawings. The Livingston case was the only one they were currently working on. When Cal found out about Gillian's involvement he'd put everything else on the back burner. Everyone was under order not to take on a new case until they'd solved this one. He owed Gillian that much.

The silence in the room had been eating at Daniel who volunteered now information on the drawings, "My parents sent me to a therapist three times a week after Nicole disappeared. They said it would help me, apparently I'd become more violent in school and got into fights. They didn't know what the other kids were talking about Nicole."

Cal nodded, "Children can be cruel."

"They kept saying not so nice things about my sister… so I punched some of them."

"You tried to protect Nicole." Cal reasoned.

Daniel explained, "I didn't want them to talk like that even if Nicole couldn't hear them anymore. She could be a little bitch sometimes, she was very self-centred and not all children liked her."

"Little sisters can be quite… arduous." Cal grinned.

"Doesn't mean I wanted her gone." Daniel saw his move right through, "I never as much pushed her." Daniel looked up and stared Cal directly into his eyes, "Read my face and tell me different. I loved my sister. I miss Nicole. I never did or said anything that would cause her to leave. Look at me and tell me if I'm lying."

Cal was loath to admit that he couldn't detect a single sign of deception on Daniel's face. But something was off. He could feel it. He'd been feeling it all the time. "What are you hiding then?"

"I'm not hiding anything." He groaned and pushed himself into the back of the chair.

"Your sister is afraid of you. Something must have happened between you."

Daniel drew his eyes into slits and glared at his interrogator, "That con artist is not my sister!"

"How do you know?"

"I just do!"

"Well, you need to give me a bit more to go on if you want me to believe you. Why do you think she's not Nicole?"

"Because I know."

"Why did you hire me if you know it's not her?" Cal reasoned, "I mean if you knew the woman wasn't Nicole then you'd have come forward with evidence, right?"

Daniel just stared ahead.

"So I'm thinking that you want her to be Nicole but can't believe that she's come back because of whatever transpired between you two when you were children. You want me to proof to you beyond a doubt that she is your sister, so you can let go of the past and move on."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "I hope you're a better lie-detector than a shrink cause that was just a truckload of bullshit."

Cal grinned, "Yeah, you're right. Feelings and psychology are Gillian's department. Want to hear _my_ theory?"

Daniel shrugged his shoulders, "No but I bet you'll tell me anyway."

"You bet your ass I will!" Cal pushed back his chair and walked around the desk lost in thoughts. Daniel followed him with his eyes, clearly his curiosity was piqued.

"I think something terrible happened between you and your sister when you were children. Maybe you made her disappear, maybe you got lucky and she was abducted…whatever it was you were relieved she was gone. All your drawings show Nicole suffering incredible pains and torture."

"That's because my therapist asked me what I thought had happened to Nicole. I kept having these nightmares about Nicole's fate and my therapist told me writing down the scenarios might help me. But I couldn't. The minute I tried to put pen to paper the images were gone. So he asked me to colour a few of my dreams in his office. They weren't violent fantasies about things I _wanted_ to happen to Nicole. They're the nightmares of a scared little boy."

"Maybe but it doesn't change the fact that if you had any proof that Nicole isn't your sister you wouldn't have hired me and long come forward with it. No, I think you know it is Nicole but you are afraid of her retaliation for whatever it is you did to her as a child. So you need me to discredit her."

"I'm _tired_ of listening to your theories, Doctor Lightman. We hired you to expose that con-artist and so far you've done nothing to that effect."

"That's not how I work. I only serve the truth. I don't fabricate results that fit my client's wishes."

"Whatever. I know what I know and you will soon, too, when the results of the photo aging software come in." Daniel showed signs of getting ready to leave. Some time in the last five minutes the other man had found his resolve and balls again and Cal knew that this time he would stood up to him if he threatened to detain him.

So Gillian had told him about that. As if Cal had needed further proof that Gillian had talked with Daniel last night. "With all due respect, Mr Livingston," Cal said as he rose from his chair, ready to drop the bomb, "the only way you can absolutely be positive that the young woman we've been investigating is not your sister is if you know your sister is dead."

Cal watched Daniel carefully for his reaction.

"Oh God, not this ridiculous accusation again!" Daniel pushed back his chair violently and jumped up. "I thought we've been over this last night. Did Gillian put you up to this? How many times do I have to say that I did not kill my sister?"

Cal watched Daniel's outburst, which might have been believable, if he had not caught the other man's glance at the pictures on the table. It couldn't have lasted more than a fraction of a second and most would have missed it. But Cal caught it. And he saw the flash of disgust across Daniel's face when his glance swept over the wood drawings. Daniel's outrage at being accused of killing his sister seemed real enough…except for that little reaction. Whatever he was hiding, it had to do with these colourings. But what was it? Daniel gave no signs of lying when he said that he had never hurt his sister – maybe he had a friend do it? But who?

"Are we done here?" Daniel walked up and got into Cal's face in a display of power.

Cal nodded casually, "I wouldn't leave the town if I were you." _I wouldn't try to see Gillian until this mess is solved if you value your life._

Daniel opened his mouth to retort something but thought the better of it and shook his head. He turned on his heels and started to walk towards the door. Just as he reached for the handle, he stopped and spun around. Cal had followed him and so Daniel got right into his face as he pressed out the words, "If you're so smart _Doctor_ Lightman, why haven't you asked yourself why Nicole was never reunited with us if she told authorities her identity. My parents were searching all over the place for her. They hired private investigators. They pulled in favours with the police chief and a friend who is a senator. My parents tapped into every source available to them, money was never an issue. Why didn't my parents' bloodhounds sniff Nicole's trace if she was listed in orphanages, with social services etc. Why do you think that is?" With that he stalked through the door.

Once the other man left, Cal de-frosted the walls and looked at his employee, "We need to find out more about these drawings. Go through his medical records again and see if we missed something."

"Ok. That guy was lying his ass off eschewing your questions like a snake."

"Your skills of observations are brilliant as ever, Loker." Cal rolled his eyes, "Oi! And get me Nicole back into the cube."

Loker raised his eyebrows, "Have you heard anything from Reynolds and Ria?"

"Not yet. Just a hunch."

"OK."

"Want to share your newfound insights?" Loker asked hopefully.

"I'll be in my office. I don't want any interruptions that aren't pertinent to the case."

"Okie dokie!" Loker said to the door closing behind Lightman.


	15. Chapter 13

"Ben. Lightman. Call me as soon as you hear this. How far along are you with the pictures?" Cal hung up and looked around his office. It was already past 2pm. Why was this taking so long?

He pulled up the video footage of all of Nicole's interviews and watched it on his computer screen. Something about this case didn't click and it drove Cal bonkers that he could not put his finger on it. As he watched the tapes he wondered if he was too close to the case. Sure he hadn't known Nicole Livingston until a few days ago but the very fact that he'd put everything on the back burner to solve this case for Gillian was a sign that maybe his priorities were a little bit skewed this time. It didn't help that he didn't like Daniel. Was he bothered that Daniel pursued Gillian successfully when she'd turned his own advances down? Did it cloud his judgement of Daniel? No, he didn't _want_ Daniel to hide something because he was dating Gillian, he didn't want Gillian to see him because he _was_ hiding something. That much became clear from his reaction to the drawings.

Cal stopped the video and reached for the manila envelope with the colourings. He shook it gently until the drawings fell out and spread them out on his desk. He stared at them for half an hour, hoping they would offer him that one hint that would help him figure it out.

"Dr. Lightman?"

Cal grunted in acknowledgment.

"Dr. Foster wants to know where you put the McCarthy file. She wants to bill them."

Cal pinched the bridge of his nose. So this is what they had come to. They weren't even talking anymore but using their staff as messengers they sent back and forth between them. Cal couldn't blame Gillian. He had been avoiding her all day as much as she had been him, so he shouldn't be pointing fingers at her. But dammit, she couldn't ask him this herself? She couldn't even be bothered to pick up her phone and dial his extension?

"Dr Lightman?" Anna cleared her throat, signalling she was still waiting.

"What?" Cal turned his head and glanced over his shoulder, "Oh, right, Torres probably still has it on her desk. She wanted to check something."

"Ok." Anna said and started to back out but then stopped watching her boss. "Everything alright?"

"Yes, why wouldn't things be alright?" Cal threw over his shoulder without turning his head.

"Ok." With that she left his office and Cal to his own devices.

Cal pulled up the video footage again, only this time he projected it onto his wall and watched it over and over. Why couldn't he detect any deception on her face? Was he off his game? Maybe he _was_ too close to the case. He reached for a magic marker absent-mindedly, wondering what he was missing. He popped the cap open and quickly closed it again, repeating the process incessantly, betraying his frustration. Something was off, he could feel it, he just couldn't _see_ it. What was wrong with him?

Maybe there was nothing to see? Cal reasoned fifty minutes later when he was ready to punch a hole into the wall. He checked his phone for messages from Reynolds but only a blank screen stared back at him. He looked up to his wall, where Nicole Livingston's mug was mocking him. Around the video projections of her face Cal had created a timeline of memories provided by Nicole and cross-listed it with information from Gillian, Daniel and her parents. He'd hoped for a pattern or an anomaly but nada. Zilch. Nothing.

He groaned in frustration and eyed the direction of Gillian's office. _No!_ He was not going to beg her for help. Not when she slept with Daniel after he'd confessed his feelings for her. He threw the magic marker disgusted onto his table. He could figure this out by himself, couldn't he? He was _not_ depended on Gillian Foster. She was _not_ the panacea for all of his problems. Cal balled his hands into fists and stared through the closed doors of his study, as if he could _see_ her working at her desk. She was doing accounting. She did that on purpose. She knew he hated it, so she told Anna to ask him about billing the McCarthy file, so he'd avoid her office today. She didn't want to see his mug today either. At least they agreed on that part.

Cal sighed deeply. Usually when he locked himself up in his office with orders to not be disturbed, Gillian strolled casually through his door under pretence after an hour. She never needed anything from him. He _knew_ that. But if she'd offered him outright to help, he'd never accept it. _She_ knew _that_. But the truth was, he often secretly waited for her to come to his office and give him a chance to vent his frustrations and talk the case through with someone. They both knew he'd never do that with Loker or Torres, so Gillian let him fret in his office for a while before she decided to save him. She was never shy to give him her opinion and more than often, it was her perspective she brought to a case that got the stone rolling again. He debated whether he should jump over his shadow but his male pride won out. He continued licking his wounds and pressed the play button again.

What bothered him the most were the early childhood memories Nicole recalled and had been confirmed by Gillian. Unless Foster had blabbed, there was no way she could have known about the Valentine's card or her brother Greg. An imposter could research a lot of background information on the internet these days because people were careless with what they put out there. But this case happened in the early eighties. No one had blogs or flicker accounts back then and it was harder for a complete stranger to obtain that kind of information.

And even if Nicole Livingston _was_ an imposter – nobody could be such a good liar. In fact, that was something that rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn't see anything because there was nothing there to see. He'd gone over the footage again and again, convinced that there must be something on her face he'd missed but there was no sign of deception. That wasn't natural, either. We all lie and hide our secrets, so why should Nicole Livingston be the exception? No. His science told him that for all intents and purposed Nicole was the real deal, but his spidey sense told him the case was far from open and shut.

Her surprise when she'd run into Gillian was as genuine as her fear of Daniel. So even if she was a skilled imposter who had rehearsed her story forwards and backwards, she could not have possibly faked those reactions. And why would she even bother to research and rehearse her early childhood memories with Gill, when she'd clearly been startled to see her in the first place?

No matter how he twisted and turned the facts, it was becoming clear that the key to unravelling the case lay in Foster's hands. Cal glanced at the phone on his desk, severely tempted to ask her to come over. She didn't _want_ him around her today, he reminded himself; she was doing their accounts. Since when did he respect her wishes? That had never stopped him before. But things were different now, he wanted to show her the respect she deserved. He wanted her to know that he really cared about her needs and opinions. Otherwise she'd never understand that his feelings towards her ran so much deeper than adding another notch to his belt. For, clearly, that was how she perceived his advances.

And what did she do? She went straight to that wanker's house. He could practically smell Daniel all over her this morning, even though they'd kept their distance and had yet to talk to each other. She didn't even give him the opportunity to prove his honest intentions. She'd just assumed he singled her out as his next sexual conquest. She had absolutely no faith in him in that regard. She couldn't possibly have any feelings for him, if she could jump into bed with Daniel, moments after he all but declared his undying love for her. She _must_ have known this would hurt him. She did it on purpose to hurt him but he couldn't figure out for the live of him why Gillian would want to hurt him like that. If it was payback for something he'd done recently, he didn't know what. And it was so very unlike Gillian Foster to be vengeful and wilfully hurting people. But if she obviously didn't care for his feelings, why shouldn't he disregard her covert request to be left alone today? After all he didn't do anything wrong? She cheated on him!

And so Cal found himself strutting grudgingly over to Gillian's office. He took the shortcut through his study and barged unceremoniously in.

"When you were a child, did you keep a diary?" He had a gnawing suspicion she was the type to write in a diary every night as a little girl and the look on her face quickly confirmed it.

Gillian looked up from her paperwork when the noise interrupted the silence of her office. "I've always thought about taking down the door because it never stops you from barging in." She replied sarcastically.

"Oh knock it off, you're free, aren't you? The payroll can wait. I need answers!" Cal groused and had already turned on his heels expecting Gillian to follow. She sighed. Grumpy Cal was no fun to be around and she seriously considered ignoring him today. Especially since he was apparently hell-bent on acting like a prick today. In fact, the reason she was doing payroll in her office was that it usually kept Cal at bay because he treated the financial side of his business like an infectious disease – as if stepping into her office while she was going through accounts would turn him into a responsible business owner.

"Oi Foster! Today!" She heard him yell from across the hallway. With a heavy sigh she got up and caught up with him.

"And who peed in your cheerios this morning?" She asked in good humour and was taken aback at the look he gave her: _You!_

"I need a second opinion on this case. It seems everyone is hiding something these days." Cal ignored her question and instead made a loaded comment to his partner.

Cal didn't count on Gillian catching the flash of hurt directed towards her. He hadn't even noticed he'd let it slip. She was confused because what she saw was genuine hurt and pain, there wasn't even the slightest bit of contempt she'd come to expect when it related to Daniel. That could mean only one thing. _She_ had pissed into his cheerios. _She_ had hurt him. Gillian knew that Cal couldn't possibly know what had happened last night but then again he could probably sense that something _had_ transpired.

"…. so I was thinking that we should go over the footage again together. If I can't _see_ anything then maybe you can _hear_ something." Cal continued and looked at his friend expectantly.

Gillian just nodded affirmatively even though she hadn't got the slightest clue what Cal had just been rambling about. She felt so confused lately by him and she wished they had time to sort this mess between them out but this case always seemed to get in between.

"I've been going over the footage for hours and I can't find any signs of deception. Which irks me, I mean…we all deceive and tell little lies so why not Nicole? Either she's really got her story down to a T or… I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at his friend, who had clearly spaced out. "Foster? You with me?"

Gillian looked up and apologised, "Sorry, you were saying?"

"You ok?" He put his hand gently on her shoulder. He looked at her worried and his sudden tenderness and concern confused her even more. Did she even know the man standing in front of her anymore?

Gillian stepped back and backed into his desk to gain her personal space back. Her hands connected with the rough surface of a paper and almost slipped.

"What's this?" Gillian grasped the paper and turned around. That was when her look fell on the other drawings.

"Oh, nothing, important. Just some colourings."

"Are those Emily's?" Gillian asked and Cal picked up immediately on her concern.

Now he was worried, too, "No, why?"

"Well… those are clearly very violent fantasies that the child who drew them is acting out."

"How do you know?" Cal asked intrigued.

"Look at the level of detail. The child obviously spent a lot of time making up these scenarios. The flames are in different shades, they are eating the girl in the middle alive. Or here", she nodded towards the one still on the desk, "Drowning. These are all very violent deaths… but drawn very vividly. This child needs help!" Her maternal instincts took over. "What case is this for?"

"What I find fascinating are the forest colourings." Cal eschewed her question and pulled up the three drawings in question closer to them.

"Mhm. Again, look at the level of detail. Here, take the tree, in all drawings the tree is nearly identical." Gillian picked up the one that showed the girl hanging from a tree.

"Why yes, you're right! And look…even though he drew three different scenarios for her death, the background is always the same." Cal held up the other two.

"He? Death?"

"A boy drew them. His therapist prompted him to draw what he thought had happened to a little girl he knew." Cal explained and held the other two drawings next to the ones in Gillian's hand.

"My God, Cal, these aren't just fantasies!" She dropped the drawing with the burning girl and picked up the one with the mountain lion. "Look at the placement of the girl. It's always near the tree. Three bushes to the left, followed by an insulated group of flowers. That can't be co-incidence. The layout is very specific, he's drawing from memory." They held the three drawings next to each other. "There're no cougars on the east coast." Gillian mumbled.

"Hm?"

"There are no mountain lions in this region. The boy is clearly mixing fantasy and reality. He must have been through a very traumatic experience. _I_ want to do the interview with him. _You_ can watch." Gillian looked at him challengingly. There was no way she was going to let him bulldoze a frightened little boy who'd bore witness to what was beginning to look like murder.

"That won't be necessary." Cal deflected and she grew suspicious. "So what does this mean if the boy drew these from memories of nightmares? Do you think he could've been the killer? Do you think he was processing a real event?"

"Absolutely. That's why the composition of the background doesn't change. He's drawing a real place. He probably saw something in the woods, the other scenarios are just product of a child's imagination. Which case is this anyway? I thought you put everything on hold until we solved Nicole's disappearance?" Gillian looked a bit confused.

Cal had the decency to look miserable while he pondered how to break the news to his friend.

"No!" Gillian shook her head. "Where'd you get those? Whose are they? Cal! Answer me!"

"They're Daniel's." Cal explained. Make it quick. Rip it off like a band-aid.

"Fuck you!" Gillian threw the drawings on his desk and spun around on her heels.

"Gillian, wait. I'm just doing my job."

"How'd you even get these?" She said with venom in her voice, walking towards his door, "There's no way you've obtained these legally. You're a jerk, Cal Lightman, a criminal and an asshole."

"He's a suspect in a case." Cal defended himself. She never had a problem before when he stretched the law a little bit to get what they needed. "Daniel's childhood shrink asked him what happened to Nicole when nightmares kept plaguing him. _These_", Cal grabbed the colourings and shoved them into Gillian's face, "are what kept haunting him in his dreams. _You_ tell me if you can still think he's innocent beyond a doubt. You said yourself that these aren't just violent fantasies. They're interspersed with memories. Don't you see? He killed her. For heaven's sake! He murdered his own sister!"

Gillian stopped in front of the door and shook her head, "No! He didn't do it! He can't have done it!"

Cal shook his head in terms, disappointed that her emotions clouded her judgement. She was blind to see what was so plain in sight. "Look at them, Foster. I don't know how he did it but he's clearly thought about it a lot. He pictured her drowning, burning, hanging…"

"No, Cal, I think we can disregard the drowning and burning pictures. They don't fit in with the ones in the forest. And here Nicole is almost an abstract shape. The size of her body against the background is disproportionate."

"So what? He had no sense of perspective. He was what? Ten, twelve, years old when he drew this? He ain't no Picasso. I think Daniel tried to kill Nicole but she escaped and now that she's come back he's afraid she'll expose him. He's got a lot to lose."

"For Christ's sake, Cal, you've _got_ to stop this. Daniel was nowhere near when Nicole disappeared. We've been over this, Cal, he was with Greg and dad all afternoon. Fifteen other boys verified each other's whereabouts. He couldn't have killed her. I think he witnessed something in the woods from afar."

"So what, he had an accomplice. But if he didn't have time to kill her, then how could he have time to witness her murder. If, as per your logic, he had time to witness her murder, he also had time to do it."

"Maybe he saw her murder after practice because the kidnapper waited a while." Gillian reasoned and didn't need to imply what the perpetrator did to Nicole in her last living hours.

"Ok. Let's assume he saw something. Whom did he see? And why didn't he come forward before? I've told you all along. He's hiding something. And if one thing's becoming clear from his drawings is that he is far from innocent."

Gillian didn't need to say anything. Cal could clearly see the frustration and anger on her face. He felt the same, this case didn't make any sense. The more answers he sought, the more questions arose. He felt like fucking Sisyphus trying to lug a rock to the top of the mountain. She wanted to say something. To defend Daniel. But the evidence was against him. She was torn. Right now it looked as if she was going to leave him standing there in his office.

"Didn't you forget a little detail?" She accused him.

Cal looked at her. _Like what?_

"Nicole Livingston is very much alive and talking over the past few days. She knows way too many details about our childhood to be an impostor." Gillian explained before she reached the door in a few strides.

"He's gonna hurt you." Cal said quietly and Gillian froze with her hand on the door. "He's gonna hurt you."

"Like you never have!" Gillian spit back and closed the door again.

Cal nodded in acknowledgement, "I'm just trying to look out for you. He's hiding something and whatever it is when it comes out…you will get hurt. You can't expect me to stand by and watch you getting hurt without saying a word." He looked at her with pleading eyes, willing her to understand.

"You have to stop protecting me, Cal, and you need to start respecting the line." she sighed frustrated.

"He doesn't know you", Cal shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at her forlorn. "He doesn't know you like I do!" He looked at her imploringly, _he doesn't love you the way I do._

Gillian gasped and her hand fell. _Don't do this to me, Cal. We've been over this yesterday_. "Do you, Cal? Do you know me? Because lately it's been feeling like I don't know you at all anymore." She countered and shook her head sadly.

They engaged in a silent stare down for several moments, before Cal finally broke the silence, "I think we should talk. After this case is over. I think we need to really sit down and talk about what's going on before this company goes to hell in a handbasket."

Gillian raised her eyebrows at him. He had used the company as an excuse but she knew he might as well have said their relationship. She nodded slowly, "I think this is a good idea."

"We've worked too hard to come this far to just throw it all away." Cal reasoned.

"Yeah, I know." Gillian sighed heavily. They stared at each other for a few minutes without uttering a word. Cal's eyes bore into her and Gillian looked around to avoid his intense gaze. Her eyes fell on the timeline on the wall.

"What's this?" She nodded in the direction of Cal's colourful handiwork.

"A timeline of events. I cross-referenced Nicole's memories chronologically against information provided by you, Daniel, her parents as well as the facts from in the police report."

"And?"

"Nothing. If there's a pattern or anomaly I can't see it."

"I think our biggest problem right now is that we have conflicting leads. Daniel's drawings suggest that Nicole is dead but whom have we been talking to then over the last week?"

"My thoughts exactly! I've gone over the video footage of her interviews again and again but I cannot make out a single sign of deception or deflection. How's that even possible?"

"Right, so what do you want me to do?"

"Listen to the interview again, perhaps you can pick something up in voice analysis."

"Locker ran the interview already twice and came up empty handed." Gillian reminded him.

"Loker's good, but he's not you, love. Just listen. Concentrate and listen." Cal rewound the tape and pressed play. He watched Gillian furrow her brows in deep concentration, listening for the slightest cue, ready to pick up on the smallest hint…in vain.

"I'm sorry, Cal." She looked at him apologetically, when he stopped the tape.

"Nah, it's ok. It was a long shot. I mean, if I can't detect any facial cues…" He trailed off.

"Do you think I'm too close to see it?" Gillian asked.

Cal frowned, "I've thought about that myself." He wondered, "Is that why we can't solve this mystery? We're personally involved." He didn't have to explain that he didn't know Nicole Livingston growing up like Gillian did. She knew that he wanted to solve this case for her peace of mind. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Did you ever lose one of your diaries?" Cal asked.

"How do you even know…?" Gillian started then rolled her eyes, as if to say, never mind, when she realised he'd read it on her face an hour ago. Sneaky bastard. "No."

"Are you sure? If Nicole's an impostor, she could've stolen your diary and read some of your entries."

Gillian thought for a minute and then shook her head, "No, I'm fairly certain they're all in my parents' attic. Do you want me to call them and see if there's been a burglary? But they would've called. With our line of work, they even call me, when distant acquaintances ask too many questions about me."

Cal was shocked by how relieved he felt about that revelation. "That's very good to hear." He would never forgive himself if anything happened to Foster or her family because of his work. He was glad her parents were still looking out for their little girl. "Did you ever mention any of what Nicole recalled to someone else?"

"No, why should I? It was so long ago. I _know_ I never mentioned anything about Greg's Valentine's card to anyone. Greg would've killed me for snooping around in his room. My mother would have grounded me, if she'd known we girls messed with Greg's stuff. But Nicole and Simone had a little crush on Greg, so they kinda talked me into going through his things."

"What about the Livingstons? I'm sure Nicole's mum wanted to know everything about her little girl." Cal explained. He didn't have to add that it felt a little bit creepy yesterday when they paid the Livingstons a visit and pictures of Gillian decorated their walls as much as Daniel's and Nicole's. He knew he didn't need to tell _Doctor_ Foster that the Livingstons had been using little Gillian to compensate for their loss.

"I know what you mean, Cal, but I didn't want to get into trouble. It didn't seem pertinent to the case, either. I…" Gillian glanced at Cal

"I'm just saying it would make sense, and I wouldn't blame you. Mrs. Livingston seems to be the kind of woman it's hard to say no to."

Gillian nodded, "When Nicole disappeared, I stopped coming over for a while. I thought her mom blamed me and it felt weird to be there without her. Then when Daniel and I became friends, I got invited over again a lot. Mrs Livingston has always been very nice and generous to me. I practically lived there with them, while Nicole and I hung out, especially after she refused to come over because my dad exploded over the basketball incident. He'd totally overreacted and actually frightened Nicole quite a bit. I was used to it by then but Nicole…gosh, how old could we've been back then? We hadn't even started school yet."

Cal looked at Gillian with sympathy. She didn't have to state explicitly that she preferred staying at Nicole's home to her own to avoid her drunken father. He stepped up behind her and put a comforting hand on his friends shoulder.

"Don't look at me like that, Cal." Gillian rolled her eyes. She hated it when he gave her that worried and over-protective look. "I'm not a porcelain doll."

Cal shrugged his shoulders, "I know. I just hate seeing you being taken advantage of or getting hurt, even if it was in the past." He knew it was ridiculous because he hadn't even known Gillian then, but he would have liked to protect her even then. "And you never shared those stories with anyone else?"

"Nope."

"Not even while drunk at a college party?" He teased her and elbowed her softly.

"Believe me, Cal Lightman, there are a lot more juicier stories about me than this silly one when I was a little girl."

"Oh, do share! Don't let me stop you."

"You wish!" She almost stuck out her tongue.

"Don't move, hold still, let me get my camera!" Cal said, "Classic display of contempt and scorn!" Gillian broke out into laughter and shoved him. Hard. Loker and Torres chose just this moment to barge into their boss's office. They stared perplexed at their bosses' behaviour.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Cal reprimanded them and yelped when Gillian hit him again, "Ouch! What was that for?"

"You should be talking, Cal!" She reminded him of his earlier entrance in her office.

"Okay, okay, but retract your claws, woman!" He rubbed his arm. He turned his focus to his young employees, "Oi! What are you doing here?"

"Nicole Livingston is signing in with Heidi", Eli explained.

Gillian looked up surprised.

"I had a hunch earlier. I've asked both Nicole and Daniel back" Cal explained, "Now don't blow a fuse, I couldn't get a clear read on Daniel." What he left unsaid was that he wasn't sure whether that was because the man had nothing to hide – which he really, really doubted – or whether Cal's jealousy made him blind. Gillian just raised her eyebrows at Cal, who turned back to his employees. "Great, set her up in the cube."

Eli didn't wait for further instructions and left to prepare everything for the interview.

Cal looked at Ria, "Shouldn't you be with Reynolds?"

"We just came back. The computer is taking longer than we thought. Apparently it takes a lot of power processors and the FBI equipment is suffering from budget cuts. The system crashed, which is why it's taking longer. We figured we might just as well wait here instead of at the FBI computer lab."

"Got kicked out, didn't ya?" Cal sneered and Ria blushed.

"Reynolds and I may have been a teensy weensy bit pushy."

"That's my girl!" Cal flashed Gillian a big grin, who shook her head bemused. "Well then, let's not keep young Miss Livingston waiting."

"Right, I'll help Loker. Ben is escorting Nicole." Ria explained and left.

"So what's your plan?" Gillian nudged Cal softly who was staring absentmindedly at the timeline on his wall again.

"I don't know, love. I don't know." He sighed.

"Do you need me in the cube?"

"Nah, Reynolds and I can handle it. You finish your payroll paperwork to keep our staff from staging a mutiny."

"Okay, but I'll be there if you need me." She replied and patted him on the back.

"I know and I appreciate that." Cal said, mindful of giving her a small gesture that he was serious about mending their relationship.

"Thanks!" Gillian let go of his back and made her way over the door. Cal showed no reaction as he was deeply lost in though. Just when she was about to let her out, she heard him yell.

"Oi! How old did you say you were when your dad blew up over the basketball incident?"

"Gee, Cal. Let me check my diary." Gillian replied sarcastically but sobered up at his serious look. "Five, maybe four, why? I'm pretty sure we were still in kindergarten." Gillian stared at him confused and then she knew it. She could see it in his change of posture and the glee spreading on his face. He'd solved the case.

"It's time we leaned a little harder on Nicole." Cal quickly gathered Daniel's drawings and strutted past Gillian. He stopped and kissed her, "You, love, just cracked this case! Twice!" He exclaimed excitedly and marched into the cube like a man on a mission.

"What? How? Cal! What do you mean twice?" She called after him but he didn't stop or slow down. On the contrary, his pace picked up and so Gillian was left rushing after him. She joined Torres, Loker and Reynolds in the lab and met their questioning stares.

"Don't look at me like I have all the answers. I'm just as clueless as you are!"

A ding on the computer caught all of their attention; Loker rolled his chair over to the desktop in order to open the e-mail. It was from the FBI and from the size of the attachment it looked like they had a result on the facial aging process. There was a short note apologising that they were still working on the second photo but the process on Nicole Livingston had been finished. Eli clicked on the file and they waited as the picture started to load. They looked up and saw Cal zeroing in on the woman in the cube.

"I've got no clue what's going on in there", Ben started.

"But whoever that is in there with Lightman", Ria continued.

"Is not Nicole Livingston!" Eli finished and suddenly three pairs of eyes were fixed on Gillian who was looking back and forth from the computer screen to the woman in the cube – the shock plainly written on her face.


	16. Chapter 14

"Why'd you kill Nicole Livingston?" Cal barked without preamble.

"What?" Nicole jumped up from her chair startled. "I'm right here!"

Cal rolled his eyes, "Save it. There's no Clive, either, was there?"

"Of course, there was." Nicole replied confused. "What's going on? What happened?"

"But then again, you weren't really abducted, either, _Nicole_", Cal continued and leaned over the desk, his head tilted sideways and infringing on her personal space, "Or should I say Simone?"

The other woman suppressed a gasp and Cal could almost hear the same sound from Loker and Gillian being made outside the cube.

"What? Why are you doing this? You know who I am." Nicole got defensive.

"Yeah, _I_ do." He pushed himself off the desk and waved his finger about in her face, "But _you_ obviously have an identity crisis."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall.

"Why did you kill Nicole?" Cal asked in a demanding voice and approached the woman like a predator. "What I don't get is: Why didn't you assume her identity sooner if you killed her because you wanted to be her."

"I _am_ Nicole Livingston." The woman yelled back and glared at Cal.

"Did you do it because you were jealous? Was that it?" Cal ignored her.

"Go to hell." Nicole moved past him and sat down in her chair, effectively turning her back on him.

"I mean she was pretty nasty to you. How did you do it? Gillian says that you were with her all afternoon and she doesn't lie. So what happened? How'd you do it? Did someone help you? Daniel?" Cal walked around the table so he was face to face with his suspect again.

"NO!" Nicole hissed but Cal picked up on the micro-expression of fear when he brought up Daniel.

"No? So you did it alone?"

"No, I did not kill Nicole Livingston. How could I? I am sitting right here."

Cal reached for the stack of drawings and placed them neatly in front of Nicole, one after another. She showed absolutely no signs of recognition at the first two, which showed Nicole in a car accident, and with the flames.

"What's this?"

Cal continued without commenting and held up the picture of Nicole and the cougar. The woman's pupils widened slightly and she looked at this picture longer. Cal assumed she recognised the geographical markers in the colouring. Cal put it down on the table and placed the one of Nicole buried next to it.

Nicole glanced at it only briefly, as if she'd been burnt. Bingo. They had a winner. Just to confirm Cal placed the last one of Nicole hanging from a tree, which Nicole looked at briefly but then glanced at the one with the grave again. "Whose drawings are those?"

"Simone. It's time to cut the crap. I've got an FBI agent waiting outside to take you to prison on accounts of murder, obstruction of justice and fraud. I recommend you start talking. Now!" Cal threatened. Finally they were making some headway. From the looks of it, Simone had killed Nicole out of jealousy and Daniel had witnessed the whole thing. So he was innocent after all.

The woman gave him a hard stare and then looked away, pondering her options. After a few moments of silence, she finally mumbled, " I _didn't_ kill her." She looked up at Cal with pleading eyes, "_I_ did not kill Nicole."

Cal noticed the shift in mood and sat down. "But you know what happened to her, don't you?" He put his hand over hers in comforting gesture. She shook her head in the negative and turned her face away from him.

"Why are you lying to me again?" Cal tilted his head trying to look her in the face. She clearly didn't want him to read her.

"What happened to Nicole?" Cal leaned in closer, trying to catch her eyes. "You can either tell me or Agent Reynolds."

"I had nothing to do with Nicole's disappearance."

"Ok, that's the truth." Cal nodded, "But you know who did it."

"I don't know _anything_."

"Now that's a lie." He leaned back and drummed his fingers on the table. "Look Simone, we can hand your over to the authorities right now and let them find out what part you played in the disappearance of Nicole Livingston, or you can talk to me. Agent Reynolds has a problem with people who harm little children. Just sayin'."

Ben took this as his cue to step into the cube.

"I can't. He will kill me."

"Who?"

Simone shook her head.

"We can protect you, Nicole, I mean Simone. If you co-operate with us, we can get a deal for you." Reynolds tried to reach out.

"Who did it? Clive?"

She gave a sign that she was about to shake her head in the negative but then clammed up and refused to even look at Ben.

"You went back into the woods even though you weren't allowed to, right?" Cal's voice became softer. He caught the flash of guilt on Simone's face. "But you weren't alone, right? Who was with you? Daniel? Did the two of you see what happened to Nicole? If you and Daniel saw who did it why did neither of you say anything?"

Simone shook her head vehemently refusing to answer. A heavy sob escaped her.

"What did you see, Simone. You can tell me. I get it. You were afraid. You were only a child. I bet it was someone you knew. A teacher? A neighbour? Someone in a position of authority. But things are different now. You're an adult. No one will know you talked. Maybe he's no longer alive. But you owe it to Nicole to tell us who did that to her. She was your friend." Ben encouraged her.

"I was _alone_", Simone confessed but her courage left her before she continued. Her face showed clear signs of disgust, tears were filling her eyes, and her hands started to shake.

"It's ok, Simone", Ben knelt down next to her, "You saw something you were never supposed to see at your age. Take a deep breath," Ben nodded at her, "Come on. Breathe in. Breathe out."

She looked at him doubtful and Cal saw his chance. He took her hands in a calming gesture. "No one can harm you, Agent Reynolds and I won't let anything happen to you. So whenever you're ready, you tell me what you saw. Ok?"

Simone took a long deep breath and held it for several moments. You could have heard a needle drop in the cube. When she exhaled slowly, she said quietly, "He buried her."

Reynolds rose abruptly and sprang into action, which earned a reprimanding look from Cal. The last thing they needed was to scare Simone, now that she was talking. Ben stepped back and leant against the wall.

"Who? Simone, whom did you see?" Cal queried gently.

"I can't" she sobbed, "He'll kill me, too, just like he killed her if he finds out I talked."

"We can protect you, Simone, no one will harm you. I give you my word."

"We can get you into witness protection." Ben slowly stepped closer. "But you have to talk to us Simone. You need to give us something. What did you see?"

"I watched him. I don't think he saw me. But I watched him digging a hole in the ground. I was rooted to the ground, I was scared he would see me and then I saw her. All that blood. And then he lifted her and dropped her body into the hole." She looked up distraught with a wretched sob, "He killed her and then he hid her body!" She cast her eyes down and wrung her hands.

"Who Simone? Who did it?" Cal put his hands over hers and coaxed the answer out of her.

"Daniel." She looked up briefly, "Daniel did it."

0~0~0~0~0

Eli watched as Torres stormed out of the lab to follow Ben. She wanted to be there when he made the arrest to watch Daniel's reaction. Eli directed his eyes back to the action in the cube and his look came to rest on Lightman. His boss seemed to have a strong suspicion that Foster had followed him into the lab instead of finishing the account billing. Lightman was obviously torn between continuing the interview with Simone regarding her identity theft and going to check on Foster. Eli glanced at his other boss standing next to him and his eyes opened wide in surprise.

Gillian thought she was going to be sick. All colour had drained from her face, sweat broke out all over her body. This could not be true. This was not happening. She was making it up. She couldn't possibly mean Dan. Maybe she meant another Daniel. Not sweet and gentle Dan. Not the lanky boy with the disarming smile always on his face. But the drawings didn't lie and Simone spoke the truth. Flashes of last night raced through her mind. She had been in his home, she had sat right next to him. She'd let him kiss her. How could he have fooled her? Twice! How could she possibly have misread him so much? She shivered in disgust at the memory of his touch and then the memories of their time together as teenagers flooded her brain. The way he had touched her and made love to her with the same hands that killed and buried his sister. She had been in his bed, a murderer's bed. Oh God, she was going to be sick.

Loker stared at her worried and then quickly grabbed the dustbin just in the nick of time. She looked at him pleadingly and Loker flashed her a quick expression of sympathy. No one would ever find out. She smiled in gratitude and dashed to the bathroom to freshen up.


	17. Chapter 15

"You will hear from my lawyer!" Daniel greeted Cal as Ben shoved him a little bit roughly into the cube. Their suspect turned around in surprise at Ben's force and shook his head, "Twice in one day now! This is harassment."

"Sit down, Mr. Livingston", Cal replied coldly and raised his eyebrows in surprise at Ben. Why was this man not wearing handcuffs?

"I won't be staying that long." Daniel replied cockily as he rolled up his sleeves.

Cal closed his eyes to keep from snapping and Ben replied evenly, "Yes you will, as Ms Torres and I explained to you, when we picked you up, there have been some developments in the case and you are now a material witness in an official FBI investigation."

Cal watched in awe as Ben lied smoothly to their suspect. They needed to talk, he'd spent clearly too much time at the Lightman Group. So Torres was responsible for this little charade. Cal excused himself and stepped out of the cube where he immediately ran into his protégé.

"What's going on?" Cal demanded.

"Dr. Lightman, hear me out." Ria requested and Cal raised his eyebrows impatiently at her.

"I went with Ben so there'd be one of us there to gauge Daniel's reaction, when Ben arrested him for the murder of his sister. And then I thought, someone like Daniel, is going to immediately lawyer up, if we confronted him with murder. Wouldn't it be better to bring him here and let you drag the confession out on video." Ria looked at her boss expectantly. There was a fifty-fifty chance he was going to yell at her and fire her for crossing his plans.

Cal's features softened and he looked at the younger woman with respect. "If you mention this to anyone else I will deny I ever said this, but…you did well today by taking the initiative, Torres."

Ria beamed at him and Cal was reminded how much his protégés still craved his approval. One of these days he'd have to have a sit down talk with Loker and Torres.

"So Daniel doesn't officially know we know Nicole is dead and he's our prime suspect?" Cal wanted to confirm.

Ria shook her head.

"And he hasn't been mirandised?"

Again Ria shook her head.

"Good." Cal turned around and went back into the cube, "Oh and Torres?"

"Yes, Dr. Lightman?"

"Keep Dr. Foster away from the cube, will you?"

Ria sent him a knowing look and nodded her head, "Yessir!"

This was going to get ugly.

0~0~0~0~0

"Will someone finally tell me what the hell is going on here?" Cal heard Daniel complain when he entered the cube again.

"Mr Livingston, there've been developments in the case of your missing sister." Ben started as Cal slouched down in the chair across from their suspect. "We have reason to believe that the woman who claims to be Nicole Livingston is an impostor." Agent Reynolds finished.

Daniel grinned triumphantly at Cal with a shit-eating grin. "Well, look who finally pulled his head out of his own ass to see the light of day."

Cal ignored the bait and explained, "As a result of recent developments, we need to confirm everyone's whereabouts in the days of Nicole's kidnapping. Where were you?"

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Oh for crying out loud. I've told this to the police, the FBI and you a million times. I had basketball practice the day my sister disappeared."

Cal nodded. "When did you learn your sister had gone missing?"

"I don't know?" Daniel glanced sideways trying to recall a real memory, "About four in the afternoon I guess? When I came home from practice. If that's what you're driving at… I have an airtight alibi. There are about fifteen people from our league who can confirm my whereabouts that day. You wouldn't call Robert a liar, would you?" Daniel was referring to Gillian's father.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Cal sneered.

"Where'd you go after practice?"

"Home. The police were already there, turning everything upside down in our house."

"You went straight home?" Ben asked.

"No. Yes. I don't remember. Why's that important?" Daniel frowned.

"How'd you get home? Did you take the bus? Was someone with you?" Cal interjected.

"No! It was summer. I rode my bike. It was really hot then."

"Did you take the shortcut through the wood?" Ben queried.

"I can't remember. It's been about thirty years. Check the police report. It should all be in there." Daniel leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms defiantly. "And before you ask again, I didn't kill my sister."

"Would you like a lawyer?" Ben stepped in.

Daniel's head shot up in shock, "Why on earth would I need a lawyer? I just told you I've had nothing to do with Nicole's death."

Cal looked at his suspect with renewed interest, "Well, that's interesting. You claim you had no hand in your sister's death but we have a witness who says otherwise."

Daniel looked from Ben to Lightman and back confused, "I don't understand. What are you trying to say?"

Ben walked next to Daniel and leaned into his personal space, "What Dr. Lightman's saying is that we have someone who saw you kill your sister and then hide her body in the forest."

"What? You're insane!" Daniel jumped up agitated.

"How long have you been abusing your sister when she was kidnapped?" Cal piped up.

Daniel pushed his hands on the table into a standing position. "Are we done here?"

"Sit down!" Cal commanded with a nod of his head, not allowing for any argument and surprisingly Daniel complied. Cal rose from his chair calmly and strutted along the walls of the cube. "What worries me Daniel is that you showed absolutely no surprise just now when you learned your sister is dead. And earlier you let it slip that you had nothing to do with your sister's death, even though we hadn't told you yet that we thought she's dead." Cal turned on his heels and marched over to Daniel like a man on a mission. "Why did you do it?"

"I didn't do anything!" Daniel defended himself.

"Did you touch her?" Cal stepped in closer and got into his suspect's face, "You tried to touch her and she said no. But she was such a pretty little girl, wasn't she. You just had to have her, didn't you? So you touched her anyway and she screamed. You were scared someone would hear you, so you silenced her, dragged her into the woods where you raped your own little sister, you sick bastard."

Cal never saw Daniel's fist coming. The other man lunged at him with a vigor Ben had rarely seen before. Cal could feel Daniel's hands tightening around his throat and somewhere in the distance he heard Ben's yells but it was too muffled to make out any words. Cal tried to pry Daniel's fingers off his skin but the other man's grip was so hard and his vision was getting blurry. He yelped for air but his airways were constricted. Their struggle continued and Daniel Livingston proved to be too powerful to Lightman in his rage. Agent Reynolds tried desperately to overpower their suspect.

0~0~0~0~0

_Gillian started for the cube but Loker held her back. Ria shook her head no, indicating that it was better to stay here. Gillian had returned a few minutes ago from the bathroom. Ria'd tried to intercept her and lure her away but Foster pulled ranks and told the other woman to mind her own business. She wanted to be there, she wanted to see Daniel's face when he confessed. Ria and Eli both stayed in the cube to keep an eye on her. They'd made sure Foster and Daniel didn't see each other when they brought him in. This was the big show down and they knew if they'd let anything happen to Foster, Lightman would kill them with his own bare hands. Gillian opened her mouth in protest but Loker glanced at the cube, forcing her to take a look for herself. Everything was fine. Cal was safe. There was no need to interfere anymore._

0~0~0~0~0

"Don't you dare talk about Nicole like that. You fucking sick bastard. You're fucking insane! She was my sister. I loved her." Reynolds had finally managed to overpower Daniel and pried his hands off of Lightman's throat. Cal panted for air and stared at Livingston curiously. Reynolds cuffed him to the table to prevent a repeat performance, then stepped back to give Lightman free view of the suspect. "You ok?"

Cal nodded in his direction and rubbed the irritated skin. Then he approached their handcuffed suspect and continued unrelenting, "You thought we wouldn't find out, didn't you, you smarmy little wanker? But I've got a newsflash for you. We know you killed her. We've got a witness who saw you with the body."

Daniel's breath hitched for a second, then he swallowed hard. "This is absurd!" Daniel jumped right back up. "You guys are insane. I loved my sister! I never laid a hand on her."

"Where did you bury her?" Cal went in for the kill.

"But I didn't!" Daniel protested and tried to get up.

"Yes, you did." Cal gave Daniel's shoulder a hard push that made him sit down. "We've got a witness who says otherwise."

"But that's impossible!" Daniel shook his head violently.

"Why? Because you made sure nobody saw you wring your little sister's neck?"

"No, because I didn't do it!" Daniel crossed his arms in a classic defiance gesture. "I'm done talking with you. I want Gillian."

"You stay clear of Foster, mate, or I'll have you in a headlock that will make your little attack on me just now look like a playground skirmish."

"Fine, you're not getting another word out of me."

"Do you want to call your lawyer?" Reynolds asked, making sure they covered all their bases. "You've got the right to one."

"I want Gillian." Daniel turned to the side he knew was facing the lab. "I didn't do it, Gill, I swear. I didn't kill my sister. Please, let me talk to Gillian, I'll explain everything to her."

"Not gonna happen." Cal crossed his arms now, too. He leaned back against the wall and felt betrayed when he heard the electronic lock opening the door. Gillian stepped inside and looked from Reynolds to Cal. Daniel immediately straightened up, glancing hopefully at Gillian.

"Gentlemen, give us a minute?" Gillian raised her eyebrows and nodded for Cal and Ben to leave. Both men immediately showed signs of protest but Gillian shook her head.

"He's cuffed, Loker's taping and my two big burly bodyguards will be waiting right outside the door."

Ben shook his head in disagreement but knew Gillian wouldn't budge on this one. "I hope you know what you're doing." He mumbled as he walked past her and glanced at Cal who hadn't moved an inch.

"You too, Cal."

"If you think for a minute that I'm gonna leave you alone with this wanker for even a nanosecond you're more bonkers than I am." Cal jutted out his chin defiantly.

"Please. Cal? Just give me a minute to talk with him in private." She touched his shoulder and spoke to him softly so Daniel couldn't hear their exchange.

"No. There's no private anyway since Loker's taping everything. You don't want to be with him in private. He's insane. He almost throttled me." Cal replied with agitation and reached for his neck for good measure.

"_He_ is right here in the room." Daniel quipped.

"If I were you I'd shut the fuck up and listen well." Gillian turned around and hissed through clenched teeth. Cal and Daniel's eyebrows shot up in surprise at Gillian's outburst.

"Cal? Please!" Gillian grabbed his shoulder and shoved him gently out the door.

"Try not to kill him, love, while you're in there. Okay? We don't need the negative publicity." Cal smirked and then turned serious, "I'll be right here, if you need me."

Gillian gave him a funny look when he used one of her classic lines and then shut the door in his face.

"I didn't do it. Gill. Please look at me, Gilly darling." Daniel jumped up from his chair and tried to walk over to Gillian but was prevented by the shackles.

"Don't you dare Gill me!" She marched over and slapped him across his face. Hard. She was sure she heard Ben and Cal wince along with Dan. "You bastard. You've been lying to me all those years. I can't believe I ever trusted you!"

"Gillian, I swear I didn't kill Nicole. Listen to me, dar…listen to me, Gillian. I've never laid hand on Nicole. Never. Ask my mother. I swear on her life I didn't do it."

"Simone isn't lying."

"Simone? Who? About what?" Daniel looked at her lost trying to put the puzzle pieces together.

"Simone Walker confessed she saw you burying your sister."

At this accusation Daniel visibly paled and slumped back into his chair. "Simone? Walker? How's that possible? I thought she was dead!"

"Nope she's very much alive, though she's been going by the name of Nicole Livingston the past few months."

Recognition dawned on Daniels face and was quickly replaced by a flash of anger, "That little bitch…"

"Nope, Daniel. Pack it in. You've got no right…"

"That bitch weaseled her way into my family!" Daniel interrupted her and protested agitated.

"What family, Daniel? You ruined your family when you took Nicole away from all of us. I can't believe I let you into my room, my life, my bed… my heart!" Gillian's voice caught at the end of the sentence.

"Gillian, please, let me explain. You've said yourself Simone only saw me burying Nicole. She didn't see me killing her because I _didn't_ do it! I did no such thing. I was just trying to help!" Suddenly Daniel broke down crying in front of her and looked like the young boy sitting on her bed, covered in snot and tears bemoaning the loss of his sister. Gillian walked over and put her hand on his shoulder in a calming gesture.

"I didn't do it, Gillian. I swear I didn't do it. I…I…had to hide her. I couldn't let mom see her this way. I couldn't let her know."

"What? What are you talking about?" Gillian sat down next to him and could sense Cal taking a protective step closer to the door.

"I found her, Gill." Daniel whispered and looked up. "I found her in the spinney. The police didn't but I did."

Gillian gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. "Danny, what are you saying?"

"I went back for a few days after the police stopped searching. I couldn't accept that they just stopped. They didn't try hard enough but I was determined to turn over every stone in that damn forest until I knew for sure Nicky wasn't there." Daniel coughed and swallowed hard. There was pure and utter disgust on his face as he recalled the images of how he found his little sister naked in the bushes.

"I saw something red sticking out from underneath a bush. The dogs must have missed the piece of garment. Maybe they didn't pick up her scent. I don't know. But I recognized it. Remember that red T-shirt mom bought her that summer? The one with the fake gems she loved so much and was wearing for days?"

Gillian nodded. Of course she knew. As if she could ever forget what Nicole was wearing the day she dropped off the face of the earth. "Why didn't you call the police?"

"I was going to. I was about to run to the station and get the whole town to come back and search for Nicole when I spotted the shirt. I just had to make sure I remembered the exact location and mark a path to find my way back…to show them."

Daniel's whole demeanor changed again and Gillian guessed the rest, "That's when you saw her." Daniel just nodded and blinked back more tears. Gillian pulled him into a hug and whispered reassuring words.

"I couldn't let mom and dad see her like that. You know how distraught mom was; the only thing that kept her going was the hope of finding Nicole. I couldn't take that away from her. If I told the police Nicky was dead I might as well have taken her will to live."

"So you pretended nothing happened and hid her body?" Gillian's voice held a tone of scolding as she shook her head in wonder.

"It was the only thing I could do. I didn't want anybody to see her like that."

"What about closure? Your mother? What about me, Daniel? You've lied to me for all those years? How could you keep something big like this from me? What about all the people who had to carry on with their lives without knowing what happened to their friend and relative? You stole that closure from me, Daniel! I've carried so much guilt around with me over the years because I could never find the full closure to move on from that part of my life."

"I'm sorry for that, Gillian, but I had to protect my mom. She would've died if she'd seen Nicole like this. There was blood everywhere. Her clothes were strewn around in the surrounding bushes. There were bruises all over her arms, her belly, her legs." Daniel looked as if he was going to be sick for a minute and collected himself again. "Nobody should see Nicky like this. I couldn't let anyone see her like this. So I went home and got a shovel. I went back to dig a grave for her. The smell was unbearable because of the heat. It took me two days to dig a hole large enough and I threw up four times but I finally managed…" He trailed off.

"We have to tell your parents the truth." Gillian said softly.

"No! It would kill my mother. She thinks Simone is Nicole. Can't we just let her believe it's the truth and I was wrong? We tell her I was jealous because of all the attention she would get from them…" Daniel sounded like the ten-year-old boy who discovered the remains of his sister in the thick of the woods.

Gillian shook her head, "No, Daniel. They need to know. They deserve closure. When Agent Reynolds comes back you will give him the exact location of where you buried her, so they can exhume her body and your parents can give your sister a proper burial and mourn her loss and visit her grave. They need that. You owe them that much."

"What will happen to me?" Daniel looked up and gazed into Gillian's eyes.

"I don't know. You were a little boy when it all happened but you've kept it a secret for so long. You hindered a police investigation. You may have prevented them from catching her killer because you ruined evidence and hid her body and hushed up the whole murder. You better ask Reynolds about the legal aspects." With that Gillian stood up to leave but Daniel caught her hand. Gillian stared at his hand as if it was a ticking time bomb and her face grimaced in disgust.

"What about us?"

"You _lied_ to me, Daniel. For years. You kept something of this importance from me for years, while we were together. You told me you loved me and yet you deceived me. Every day. For ten years."

"I'm sorry, Gill. I never meant to hurt you. I'm not a bad person you know." Daniel confessed.

"I know but right now Daniel I can't look at you without feeling sick at the thought that I've been intimate with you. Your hands…you touched me with the same hands that dug Nicole's grave." Gillian shuddered. "It will take a long, really long time, Daniel, before I can talk to you again without feeling confused and betrayed." She freed herself from his grasp and walked over to the door.

"What I did…", Daniel began without looking in her direction, "I did it out of love."

Gillian opened the door and said without looking back, "I know." When she was out of the cube, she was almost accosted by Cal.

"You alright, love?"

She just nodded mutely.

"Need some space, huh?" Cal read her face correctly, "Go home, Reynolds and I will deal with everything. Get some rest." Cal pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tightly, "Let me know if you need anything."

Gillian nodded and stepped out of his embrace. She glanced at Ben and whispered with a nod towards the cube, "He's all yours."

Ben nodded and watched as Gillian slowly made her way out of the lab avoiding eye contact with everyone.


	18. Epilogue

"What are you doing here, Cal?" Gillian asked resignedly. "Come to gloat?" She turned her back on him and walked down the hallway.

Cal looked genuinely hurt and held out the photo album. "I came by to returns this." They both knew it was an excuse.

Gillian stopped and turned around to look at the proffered item. "You could have just left it on my desk in the office." She replied, as she took it. "But thanks." She discarded the album on the cupboard in the hallway.

Cal shoved his hands in his pocket. There was an awkward silence between them.

"Are you ok?'" Cal asked even though he knew it was the stupidest thing to ask at the moment. But he hated the silence and he was at a loss for words.

Gillian looked at him for a minute, then reached out to touch the skin on his neck softly, "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

Cal shrugged his shoulders and grinned, "'Tis but a flesh wound!" And just like that he broke the awkward tension with his movie quote as they broke out into laughter.

"You really are something!" Gillian chastised him. "Does it hurt?"

Cal shook his head, "Not unless someone constantly fingers it."

Gillian snapped her hand back as if she'd been burnt. "I'm sorry." Cal grabbed it quickly and held it firmly between his palms.

"It's ok. It doesn't hurt when _you_ touch it."

Gillian sighed and withdrew her hand completely.

"You knew it, didn't you? You knew it was him. You knew all along…" She said quietly.

Cal pressed his lips together, pondering his next words, "No I didn't. I had no idea he buried Nicole until he confessed. But yes, I just knew something was off about him the minute he walked into my office."

"And I thought you were jealous."

He should have rolled his eyes and made a quip. He should have turned around and left. He should… But instead he found himself replying, "I was."

Gillian's eyes darted up and bored into him waiting for an explanation.

"I'm sorry about the way things have become between us. I just…" he sighed heavily with a shrug, "I don't like seeing you getting hurt."

"Like you have never done that."

"Not on purpose." He countered.

"How could he do this to me, Cal? How could he?" Gillian's eyes began to tear up again. If Cal had been a bigger man he would have defended Daniel as someone who thought they were trying to do the right thing. Trying to protect her. Because Cal knew that was what Daniel was trying to do. Protect Gillian and his mum. After all, Cal Lightman knew everything about protecting Gillian Foster. He wrote the bloody book on it. The Sequel. And the fucking prequel. Instead Cal put his arm around Gillian's shoulder and softly guided her into her kitchen.

"I'll go and put on a kettle, ok? It will help you relax." He gently pushed her down into a chair at the table and then moved over to the counter.

Gillian smiled, watching Cal putter around in her kitchen, finding comfort in the ease with which he settled to work in her kitchen. It was as if he belonged there, he knew where her tools were, her cups, her sugar bowl.

"We'll never find her, won't we?" Gillian finally broke the silence.

Cal returned to her with two mugs in one hand and juggling sugar, spoons and milk in the other. "Turns out Daniel visited Nicole's "grave" regularly, when I interrogated him again after you left. He went there regularly; though in increasing intervals. Even now he visits it twice a year on her birthday and the anniversary of her disappearance."

Gillian gaped open mouthed, "How did he get that by me when we were dating?"

Cal shrugged, "I don't know. He said initially he went there every day, then once a week, once a month etc. He probably fed you some excuse. In any case, he's co-operating with local authorities and has disclosed the location. You were right; the drawings were from memory. We emailed them to the sheriff who had no problem locating the spot from the colourings. The police are setting everything up for her exhumation first thing tomorrow morning, as we speak."

Gillian nodded absentmindedly and Cal reached out to cup her chin in his palm.

"Hey there. Still not your fault."

"It's strange, you know. It's been so many years since she disappeared I almost made peace with her death – cause that's what I assumed had happened anyway. But now… it still hurts." She finally looked up to meet his eyes and Cal saw the tears shimmering there. She threw her arms around him and in a second Cal had his around hers and held her in a tight embrace. He rocked her softly and stroked her hair, as she cried on his shoulder. No words were needed. Nothing he could say would make the pain and betrayal go away. Their moment was interrupted when the teapot started to whistle.

Cal broke away and Gillian straightened up. Cal made motions to get up, while she smoothed out his shirt. "Thank you for coming. I didn't think you would…" _given the circumstances_.

Cal looked into her eyes, "I'll always come." He swallowed, "You're my best friend. I'll always be there for you." He hated to ruin this moment but the whistling started to grate on his nerves and he quickly went to fetch the kettle. He brought the teapot back with him and rested it on the coffee table. He smiled when Gillian automatically reached forward to place a coaster underneath the hot pot.

"We're never going to find out what happened with Nicole, are we?"

Cal licked his lips, choosing his reply carefully, "I don't think so. Too much time has passed. If there was any evidence on her body, it's long gone now. Never mind the part about Daniel messing around at the crime scene… Reynolds asked for a favour, so Nicole's case will be regularly revisited even tough it's technically a cold case."

Gillian nodded numbly.

"I'm sorry, love, that's the best I could do." Gillian shot him a look that said he'd clearly done more than what was expected from him. Silence settled around them.

"I talked to Simone again", Cal offered as a conversation starter, and as predicted Gillian's head shot up with curious interest.

"Why did she do it?" she asked.

Cal shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think even she knows that."

Gillian was upset she fell for it. "Why didn't we see it right away? How could she fool us? We're the experts!"

Cal put his hand over Gillian's in comforting gesture, "You _wanted_ it to be Nicole."

Gillian pulled a face and muttered, "I _needed_ her to be Nicole."

Cal nodded, "I've said it before, Gill, it wasn't your fault and thirty years later still no one's blaming you."

Gillian looked him straight in the eye, "Then why do I feel like crap?"

Cal tilted his head a little sideways and watched his friend and partner carefully, "You went to them, didn't you?"

Gillian looked for a nanosecond surprised and then almost laughed because she should have known better that she couldn't hide anything from the great Cal Lightman, "I had to. I wanted them to hear it from someone…I didn't want a stranger to explain to them…" she stuttered.

But Cal wasn't fooled for a minute, "You wanted to spare Daniel from telling his mother he buried his own sister." He shook his head. He knew it couldn't have been easy for Gillian, why did she have to act like a bloody martyr?

"He did what he thought was right. He was only a child."

"So you've forgiven him?" Cal queried surprised.

"Hell no!" Gillian shook her head vehemently in protest. "Doesn't mean I want to make his life harder."

"How did his parents react?"

Gillian shot him a dummy look – _how do you think they reacted when I squashed their last hope?_

"Never mind, stupid question." Cal retracted his previous question. "For what it's worth, I don't think Simone did it for the money alone."

"What did she say?"

Cal shrugged his shoulders quickly as if to say not much. "The reason we didn't pick up on her lies was because she was drawing on real memories. She wasn't making up stuff, so it was harder for us to detect."

"Are you saying she was really abducted?" Gillian looked at him flabbergasted.

"No, but she was sexually assaulted by her father, which is why she ran away from home. I guess that explains why dear old dad left mum after Simone did a runner."

She nodded in understanding, "So when she told us about running away from her tormentor she was really recalling what her father did to her."

Cal continued, "As we figured out on our own, she hit rock bottom in LA, got mixed up with the wrong crowd, discovered drugs, etc. She tried several times to turn her life around but to no avail. Then she saw Daniel's parents on TV and remembered Nicole. Figured she'd give it a shot. She didn't think Daniel would hire us, she definitely did not expect to run into you, too. Simone mentioned she was surprised you didn't call her out after your first meeting."

"I honestly didn't know. I read her all wrong."

"No, I think you didn't. I think that while all the signs pointed you in one direction, the science and your professional experience told you she was telling you the truth, but your gut instinct kept telling you not to close this case. We both know our science isn't infallible."

Gillian was quiet. Too quiet for Cal's liking and so he forged on, "You told yourself it was to convince Daniel but deep down you needed to convince yourself, too. If it had been for me, I probably would have lost interest quicker and filed the case."

Gillian looked up at Cal with doubting eyes. She honestly didn't know. She felt confused and betrayed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Cal offered and Gillian almost laughed, hearing those words come out of his mouth.

"What's there to talk about?"

"Tell me about Nicole." Cal leaned back on her kitchen chair and looked at her expectantly. Gillian frowned but he motioned with her hands to share her memories. And so she did. She recounted how she met Nicole, how they were practically joined at the hips. She explained how Nicole was in many ways the opposite of her. Gillian had really always been more of tomboy until Nicole crossed her paths. She grew up with a much older brother, whom she adored, and tried to emulate all the time. She broke out into a fit of giggles when she described to Cal her mother's relief when a doll finally found its way on her Christmas list. Gillian was a quiet child, Nicole always had to be the centre of the universe – their mothers called them yin and yang.

When Gillian admitted she liked spending time at Nicole's house and tried to go over there as much as possible rather than vice versa, Cal all but wanted to hug her and comfort her thinking about a five year old Gillian Foster trying to escape her own home and drunken father. She didn't say he was the reason but she didn't have to. Not with Cal. Not even because he'd read it on her face, just because he knew.

Even after Nicole's disappearance Gillian continued to spend time with the Livingstons – partially because she became friends with Dan and partially because Nicole's mom was clinging to any remnants of her daughter's life. Cal watched as Gillian shook her head, he was about to open his mouth and interject a professional opinion, but Gillian beat him to it. She cringed and shuddered lightly, when she recalled seeing pictures of herself earlier in the day at the Livingstons' home. As a child, she had never really put a lot of thought into it, she liked the Livingstons, Dan was her friend, their house was quiet and big and clean, Mr Livingston never yelled. In hindsight, she thought it was creepy to realise she had all but substituted Nicole in their lives. The Livingstons participated so much in her life, she couldn't recall any significant moment of her childhood they were not part of. She wondered how her parents felt about that? Did they even notice back then or were they so pre-occupied with their own marital problems? By the time she went to college and broke up with Dan it was long overdue to cut her cord to the Livingstons as well and spread her wings.

Cal just sat there listening to her. He didn't utter a word and just watched her, sharing a smile with her when she recounted something funny. For the most part, though, Cal just watched Gillian talk because that was what he liked most. Watching her. Seeing the little wrinkles around her eyes when she smiled, the way she licked her lips sometimes in between sentences trying to figure out what she was going to say next. The way her eyes darted all over the place when she was thinking of something but couldn't put her finger on it. The deep blue of her eyes, the perfect line of white teeth, her luscious red lips… Cal Lightman could get lost in Gillian Foster and for all he cared he could never find his way back home. Gillian was where he felt home, where all the pressure of the world fell of his shoulders.

He never noticed she'd stopped talking and just continued to gaze absentmindedly into her blue eyes. She smiled, that much he registered. Gillian wondered whether she should call him on his behaviour but something held her back.

Maybe it was the simple fact that he was there. He had come, despite the huge blow up the day before, he had come. As a friend, not to gloat, not to tell her "I told you so", just as a friend with a strong shoulder to cry on and strong arms offering comfort. She had to admit she liked it when Cal held her. It made her feel safe.

Maybe it was the fact that for once she had caught Cal Lightman completely off guard. As he sat there, gazing at her, his mask was not as firmly in place as he usually kept it. She could see the worry lines running across his head, but she could also see the wrinkle around his eyes when he smiled ever so slightly. She wondered what brought that smile to his face since she hadn't uttered a single word in probably over a minute. She watched him watching her, his head propped up on his arms, half slouching on her kitchen chair. He was no Adonis, no knight in shining armour, no super-muscular secret agent; right now he wasn't even Cal Lightman human lie detector extraordinaire. He was just Cal. But he was her Cal, who always came to her rescue. Who at the end of the day often put her needs above his own, even if he had gone off on one of his wild goose chases. He may be reckless and not always thinking of the consequences ahead but at least he had always been honest to her when it counted. Maybe it was time she trusted him a little bit more.

"What?"

His voice shook her out of her reverie. "What what?"

"What are you smiling at?" He grinned.

"I'm not smiling", Gillian said and made a serious face.

"Yes you were. What were you just thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"Oh come on, Gill."'

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Hey, no fair!" Cal pouted.

"And stop trying to read me. There's nothing there you don't already know by now anyway." She ruffled his head and got up to put their mugs into the sink.

"Au contraire", Cal turned around and followed her with his eyes, not so subtly checking her out, "you can be full of surprises, when you want."

"The line, Cal! I don't think there's a lot for you to read on my butt anyway." She shot back when she turned around and caught him staring at her butt. He didn't even try to cover it up because the laughter in her voice gave away that she wasn't really upset with him.

"Oh, you would be surprised!" Cal gave her a cheeky grin and dodged the kitchen towel flying in his direction just in time.

* * *

><p>AN: This is the end. Thanks to everyone who've read and reviewed my story.


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